Every week, it seems like we find out something new about COVID-19 with the World Health Organisation (WHO) is constantly releasing new guidelines. Scientists and doctors continue to perform clinical trials on vaccines and therapeutics.

While there is still much to learn, there is no question of the enormous impact of COVID-19. Over two million people worldwide have tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Australian Government, there have been 12,428 COVID-19 cases with 126 deaths in the country.

With many businesses opening across Australia, read this article to dispel seven myths associated with COVID-19.

1. Contact Tracing Is a Violation of Privacy

There has been a lot of noise that contact tracing is a government spy program. People believe that world governments are keeping tabs on everywhere they go. In addition, these conspiracy theorists think that the government is logging their citizens’ personal contacts.

World governments are not interested in where you get morning coffee and who you talked to. Contact tracing is a temporary measure designed for COVID-19 protection.

The concept behind contact tracing is the widespread notification of COVID-19 exposure. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracing allows reaching back to any person that you interacted with.

The end result is that people who were exposed can self-quarantine or get tested. This helps limit the spread of COVID-19.

Your business can mitigate COVID-19 risk by implementing contact tracing. Many companies are bringing in technical services companies to implement a contact tracing program. You can help protect employees and customers alike by doing so.

2. Masks Cause Oxygen Deficiency

Many people object to wearing a mask in public. They believe that the masks made it harder for them to breathe. There is also a concern that they may faint due to oxygen deficiency.

These concerns are simply untrue. While wearing a mask may feel uncomfortable at first, you are not in any health risk by wearing it for extended periods of time.

3. COVID-19 Is Like the Flu

COVID-19 is often compared to the seasonal flu due to sharing many symptoms. However, COVID-19 is far more lethal than the flu and is over 10 times deadlier. In Australia, government figures for the flu season ending in October 2019 indicated that 812 people died as a result of influenza out of 298,120 reported cases, which is a fatality rate of approximately 0.27%.

There are a number of other differences between COVID-19 and the seasonal flu. For starters, there are already vaccines developed and tested to protect against the flu. This is not true for COVID-19.

There are also effective therapeutics designed to minimise the impact of the flu. Currently, there are no approved therapeutics to fight COVID-19.

4. Your Pay Is in Jeopardy

Some employees fear to return to work. They have little accrued sick leave and are afraid to test positive for COVID-19. In their mind, this would force them to take leave without pay.

There are a number of private and public options to prevent this from happening. On the private side, many employers are looking to upgrade their workers’ compensation plans. This would provide protection in the event that COVID-19 spreads throughout a work environment.

The Fair Work Ombudsman website states that generally speaking, permanent employees working part-time and full-time that cannot go to work due to being sick with COVID-19 should be able to take paid sick leave.

5. Only Sick People Need to Get Tested

At first, there were strict testing limitations in many countries. Medical professionals would only administer a COVID-19 test if the patient had symptoms, such as a high fever.

However, these limitations were only in place due to a shortage of tests. Many people misconstrued this testing criterion to mean that only sick people needed to get a test.

The truth is that asymptomatic individuals can also transmit the virus. They can pass it along to coworkers or friends that are more at risk of the virus.

This is why you need to get tested if you have been exposed to COVID-19. Testing is highly recommended, even if you are a low-risk individual with no symptoms present.

6. Ibuprofen Worsens COVID-19

When the virus first started to spread across the globe, there was some concern about using ibuprofen. There were premature reports that using ibuprofen-based products, like Nurofen, could exacerbate your situation.

However, after several medical studies and reports, this early report was debunked. Even the French Ministry of Health contributed to this myth. The truth is that there is no data to suggest that using ibuprofen to treat fevers caused by COVID-19 is dangerous.

7. Only Older People Are at Risk

There is a widespread belief that only older people are at risk. Many people believe that you are not vulnerable unless you have a pre-existing condition. For these reasons, we have seen large gatherings of young people partying in Florida or Missouri.

While it is true that young people have less risk of dying, they are still being hospitalised in significant numbers. Also, scientists are unclear about the long-term health implications of COVID-19. 

Dispelling Common Myths About COVID-19

Hopefully, this article was informative and helped dispel myths about COVID-19. The spread of false information puts everyone at greater risk.

Unfortunately, people are refusing to wear masks or get tested due to the proliferation of false information. They also look sceptically upon beneficial programs like contact tracing.

Do you need help returning to business following the COVID-19 outbreak? Our Return to Work Services can offer the support you need. 

Visit our COVID-19 Resource Centre for more useful information and contact us to learn more about the many services we offer.