Why the coronavirus 'self-check test', circulating on social media, is not helpful at all

A recent viral coronavirus "simple self-check test" has taken over the internet, and experts say it is not at all rooted in fact.

The three-part post falsely claims that people can find out whether they have coronavirus simply by holding their breath for more than 10 seconds. If you can hold your breath without coughing, discomfort, stiffness, or tightness, your lungs do not suffer from fibrosis. And you have no COVID-19 infection.

The post has gone viral on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

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The novel virus doesn't usually show signs of infection for many days. The post attributed to “Taiwan Experts,” “Stanford University,” or “Stanford Hospital Board” provided for this "simple self-check" that can be done every morning. They said people should self-check every morning in an environment with clean air.

Stanford Health Care, however, said they had nothing to do with the email. "A widely distributed email about COVID-19 that is attributed to a “Stanford Hospital board member” contains inaccurate information. It did not come from Stanford Medicine," it said, in a statement.

Dr Robert Legare Atmar, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, also refuted the post.

"When someone has an acute viral infection it can be difficult to take a deep breath and not cough because the airways are irritated. That's all it means. It doesn't say anything about fibrosis, even though people with fibrosis might struggle doing it. Being able to hold your breath for 10 seconds also doesn't mean someone doesn't have coronavirus," he told CNN.

Meanwhile, the deadly coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, despite increasingly strict quarantine measures around the world.