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No, Malaysia hasn’t found coronavirus cure

“Malaysia finds the cure for the deadly coronavirus,” claims the headline of an article dated 10 February 2020 and shared on Facebook.

“Malaysia has so far cured 3 people infected with the novel coronavirus (nCoV-2019),” the article says. This is “a signal of hope for all Malaysians and the world”.

Has Malaysia, a country in southeast Asia, found a cure for Covid-19, the disease the new coronavirus causes? We checked.



Coronavirus recoveries in Malaysia


Channel News Asia gives a list of some of the people in Malaysia who have recovered from coronavirus infection.

One is a four-year-old girl who was allowed to return home on 4 February.

A live map using World Health Organization data shows that 42 people with Covid-19 had recovered by 16 March.

Recoveries not evidence Malaysia has ‘found cure’


We could find no credible news reports that Malaysia has found a cure for Covid-19.

On 11 March the WHO declared that the disease was a pandemic – a serious outbreak in many countries. If a cure had been found, it would have been reported widely.

The article itself does not say Malaysia has found a cure for coronavirus. It only says three people had recovered from the disease by 10 February.

The headline is false. - Taryn Willows




 

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