Busting the Myth of the Supposed Connection of 5G to the Coronavirus

During this COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories and other misinformation are hitting the news. Wrong information abound, such as those who say that the coronavirus is simply like the regular flu, or that drinking water can flush the virus out, or that eating cloves of garlic offers protection. In addition, there are also theories that it is a man-made biological weapon, incubated or genetically engineered in bats, or a scheme to control the population by Bill Gates. 

 5G, which is the next generation in internet connection that will cause faster speeds through wider radio spectrum, is now touted as responsible for COVID-19. This is simply not true.

 This week's news reports show how some people believe this myth, so that they started to attack 5G towers as well as workers. In the UK, Birmingham Live reported a 5G mast being set on fire, and a Twitter video showed Hong Kong protesters destroying masts.

 The fear from 5G arose from a long misunderstanding of radiation, specifically electromagnetic radiation, and how ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation differ from each other. Radio waves are just low-frequency electromagnetic radiation  with a long wavelength. It is less energetic compared to infrared and carry less energy than visible light. If radio waves cause COVID-19, then sunlight must be worse in causing epidemics. 

 Radio waves did not emerge in the year 1916. It actually emerged just after the Big Bang, from the Cosmic Micro-wave Background permeating the whole universe. In addition, our planet gets a lot of electro-magnetic radio wave radiation from our sun. Therefore, any technology that used radio waves did nothing new.

 5G radio waves are non-ionizing because they lack the energy needed to take away electrons from atoms, unlike gamma rays, x-rays, or any other high-frequency electro-magnetic radiation. Exposure to such ionizing radiation can cause cancer and weaken the immune system, which 5G cannot do.

 Furthermore, commercial radio receivers and transmitters were first made by Marconi between 1895 and 1896, and radio had wide use starting 1900, which is way before the 1918-1920 flu pandemic. Then, conspiracy theorists also say that the onset of 3G in the year 2003 caused SARS. But how about the 1957 Asian flu, or the 1968 Hong Kong flu? They are ignored as they do not fit into the conspiracy narrative.

 3G had a protracted rollout. It was not rolled out till 2006 in Asia, and only in 2007 did it become operative in 40 nations. It was not present in Africa before 2012. However, SARS was identified in 2002 in China, a full four years prior to 3G introduction there. SARS was suppressed by July 2003, while a 2004 smaller outbreak occurred also in China. All events were at least two years prior to 3G rollout in that place.

 The 4G rollout was 2008-2010 correlates with the 2009-2010 swine flu pandemic. But correlation does not mean causation. Coronavirus, MERS, and SARS are different than influenza, which has a different incubation period and cause different symptoms. If they all have one root cause, which are low-frequency radiations, then their behaviors and pathophysiological effects should also be the same.

 No evidence exists that 5G compromises the immune system, according to scientists, just as the World Health Organization does not say that electromagnetic hypersensitivity is caused by electromagnetic field or EMF exposure. The simple truth is that the COVID-19 virus is new, thus, we still do not have immunity or antibodies against it.