False virus cure claims infect the Internet

A worker producing protective face masks at a factory in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province. The WHO, the Hong Kong Red Cross and the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection have all issued warnings against steaming – or reusing at all – single-use masks. — AFP

HONG KONG: Gargle salt water, use herbal eyedrops, steam-clean a face mask – false claims about how to combat a deadly coranavirus epidemic emerging out of China are flooding the Internet.

Social media giants have promoted their strategies to combat misinformation related to the epidemic, which has claimed more than 560 lives in China and spread to 24 countries.