A viral text message listing various countries and the COVID-19 situation there, along with travel restrictions and lockdowns, is being shared across social media laying emphasis on the dangers of a possible third wave.
The text goes on to read, "History tells us that, like the Spanish flu of 1917-1919, the third wave was more dangerous than the first and second waves. Millions of people died." It states how countries are once again scrambling to close their borders.
However, we found that the text related to the restriction is alarmist in nature and also exaggerated.
It's true that the new Omicron variant (B1.1.529) which was first reported by the researchers in South Africa has been listed as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation. However, it is still not clear whether it is more transmissible and dangerous than the delay variant.
So far, over 29 countries have reported cases of the Omicron variant. And countries are updating their guidelines for safety but the claims made in the message are highly exaggerated.
CLAIM
The text message is being shared across Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
It claims that Canada, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany and Italy had banned flights "in and out", and that Canada's daily death toll had exceeded 1,000 deaths.
And also says that Spain and the UK had announced an extended lockdown or state of emergency, adding that Brazil had fallen into its "deadliest chapter" with more than 4,100 deaths.
The message claims that these countries had confirmed that the third wave was the deadliest, citing the Spanish flu as an example, which claimed millions of lives between 1917 – 1919.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We checked the claims made in the text message by countries and verified the information based on official government announcements and news reports.
CLAIM 1
Canada bans flights in and out, and the daily death toll exceeds 1,000
We checked the Canadian government's official website and found a news release issued by the country's Public Health Agency on 30 November.
As per the release, Canada announced additional border measures to control the spread of the virus and expanded the countries with list of prohibition to include Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi.
At the moment, Canada has prohibited entry for those who have travelled to 'high-risk' countries such as Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe in the last two weeks.
Testing on arrival and institutional quarantine rules apply to travellers coming in from every country.
Further, as per the data available on Our World In Data – an online publication – Canada had never exceeded 244 deaths [29 April 2020] in a day since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CLAIM 2
Saudi Arabia is blocked and there are no flights in and out.
While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had initially suspended flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini over concerns related to the Omicron variant, news agency Reuters reported on 28 November that the country would allow travellers "from all countries" as long as they receive one dose of the vaccine in the country.
The report noted that the Kingdom would allow passengers to enter from "next Saturday," who would need to quarantine for three days.
CLAIM 3
Tanzania is completely blocked.
Team WebQoof looked for reports or official announcements regarding any recently imposed travel restrictions, lockdowns or COVID-19 related restrictions in Tanzania, but did not find any such announcements.
In its last travel advisory issued on 13 September 2021, the government of Tanzania made it mandatory for all travellers to carry a COVID-negative test report, and only allowed RT-PCR or NAAT tests.
CLAIM 4
Brazil fell into the deadliest chapter, with more than 4,100 deaths today.
The text in the claim mentions today, however it is not clear which date is it referring to.
But as per Our World In Data, we saw that Brazil had not seen more than 1,000 daily deaths sine 20 August, 2021.
While the country's record high number of deaths in day was 4,249 on 8 April earlier this year, it has managed to bring the number down to less than 1,000 deaths per day in November.
CLAIM 5
Spain has announced that the state of emergency can be extended.
As per a Bloomberg report, the 'state of emergency' in the country ended in May 2021 and as of Friday, 3 December, Spain now allows fully vaccinated people to travel in and out of the country with COVID-negative RT-PCR tests.
There are no further reports on the country declaring a state of emergency.
CLAIM 6
The United Kingdom announced a one-month lockdown.
While there is no ongoing lockdown in England, news agency Reuters quoted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as saying, "I think another lockdown of the kind that we've had before is extremely unlikely."
Johnson added that the situation was being constantly monitored, as the country detected new Omicron variant cases.
CLAIM 7
France Locked for two weeks.
We looked for announcements regarding lockdowns or travel restrictions imposed by the French government and found that the country had restricted inbound passengers from seven countries, namely South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini.
According to a CNN report, fully vaccinated travellers from other countries can enter France without a PCR report.
The report also noted that the government announced new mask mandates in parts of the country which were seeing an uptick in new COVID-19 cases.
CLAIM 8
Germany sealed for four weeks.
Germany has also issued a travel ban for passengers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, as per the country's Foreign Federal Office's website.
As per a report by the BBC, Germany has not announced a lockdown despite experiencing its fourth wave of the virus. The country is following a policy of restricting those who are unvaccinated, allowing them to meet only two people outside of their household, as is considering making vaccines mandatory for all by February 2022.
CLAIM 9
Italy followed closely today.
Media organisation CNN reported that while the country will be in a state of emergency until 31 December, it has not imposed any lockdowns and has imposed travel restrictions for passengers arriving from eight South African countries.
Additionally, the country has announced tightened rules for its unvaccinated citizens, which will make it difficult for them to "carry out day-to-day activities," said the report.
Further, the text draws parallels between the Spanish Flu and COVID-19 and says that the third wave of the Spanish Flu was deadlier than the second.
However, as per the information available on the website of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the second wave was highly fatal.
While it is true that countries have once again put in place certain measures like restricting flight to and from travel bans certain countries that they categorise as "high risk", but the text makes unfounded claims about lockdowns, sudden surge in deaths and is exaggerated.
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