A lab technician watches as Bobby the K9 retriever dog sniffs sweat samples, in order to detect the Covid-19 coronavirus through volatile organic compounds, at the Faculty of Veterinary Science in Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on May 21, 2021. (AFP / Lillian Suwanrumpha)

Thai university did not warn ‘we are on our own’ if Covid-19 cases surge

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 24, 2021 at 06:00
2 min read
By AFP Thailand

As Thailand battled a third wave of coronavirus infections, Facebook posts emerged purporting to show the summary of a meeting at a leading university, which apparently concluded the country would be “on its own” if Covid-19 case numbers continued to rise. The claim is false: Mahidol University said the posts were “fake news” and did not reflect the points raised in the meeting.

The claim was shared here on Facebook on May 9, 2021.

The text purports to show the summary from a meeting on the pandemic at Mahidol University, a leading research institution in the Thai capital Bangkok.

The Thai-language text reads:

“The latest situation after the board- meeting at Mahidol University earlier today. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, the doctor who supervises Covid-19 related policies.

1. The infection number of 2,000 will stay with us for a while, at least for 15 days

2. If there are new clusters, we are on our own

3. Be careful of your hygiene, especially when you order food delivery

4. 65% of the people are infected at home

5. Husband and wives should sleep separately for at least two months

6. Don’t let anyone enter your house

7. You should get vaccinated

8. Sinovac and AstraZeneca are coming to Thailand

9. Don’t be negligent”.

Dr. Prasit Watanapa is the dean of Siriraj hospital, which operates under Mahidol University.

The claim circulated online as Thailand faced the third wave of Covid-19 infections. The kingdom reported a new daily high of nearly 10,000 coronavirus cases on May 17, 2021, more than two-thirds of them in prisons, AFP reported.

The purported advisory was also shared here, here, and here on Facebook, and on Japanese messenger app LINE.

However, the claim is false.

Thailand’s Mahidol University released a statement on May 9, 2021, debunking the purported advisory, which it said does not reflect the points raised at its latest meeting on the coronavirus situation.

“The latest situation summary points after meeting at Mahidol University is fake news, please don’t share,” the statement reads.

The misleading claim was also debunked by Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre, a government-run platform within the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, here on May 10, 2021.

Covid-19 vaccination

Although the claim misleads on the origin of the source, the purported advisory contains some accurate information.

The post recommends getting vaccinated against Covid-19 and respecting social distancing rules, which are recommended by international health authorities.

As of May 19, Thailand's public health ministry reported it had administered more than 2.5 million vaccine doses to at-risk groups since February 28, 2021.

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Thai university did not warn ‘we are on our own’ if Covid-19 cases surge

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