Fact Check: Post claiming fit people are immune to novel coronavirus is fake; everyone is at risk for getting COVID-19 if exposed to virus

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A viral post on social media claims that novel coronavirus does not affect people who are fit or do workout. It affects those who are obese who never lifted weights or worked out a day in their lives. It further claims that fit people do not need to wear masks as they would not contract coronavirus. Vishvas News investigated and found the viral post to be fake. Experts suggest that everyone is at risk of getting COVID-19 if they are exposed to the virus.

Claim

A post shared on Twitter by a user named Ronny reads: “Relax, I’m 6 feet away from you whining “essential workers”. Go ahead and take my picture, I don’t need to wear no stupid mask. Covid doesn’t affect anyone under 10% body fat BTW. The virus is only killing off obese people who never lifted weights in their lives.” The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

Vishvas News investigated and found a report on the website of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report titled: ‘People Who Are at Increased Risk for Severe Illness’ stated: “Everyone is at risk for getting COVID-19 if they are exposed to the virus. Some people are more likely than others to become severely ill, which means that they may require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe, or they may even die.”

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among adults, the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at the highest risk.

Also, people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

The post claims that the virus is only killing off people who never lifted weights in their lives.

We searched and found an article dated May 13, 2020 on the website of Johns Hopkins Medicine in which a story of a patient was shared. According to the article, Ayyad was on a ventilator at The Johns Hopkins Hospital for 25 days and lost more than 60 pounds during his ordeal. His doctors say his physical fitness, positive attitude, and the support of friends and family are helping him recover from the disease and the toll of long-term ventilation. Discharged on April 22, Ayyad still has a blood clot in his left arm and damage to his heart and lungs — all complications of COVID-19.

Dr. Nikhil Modi, Pulmonologist at Critical Care, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital stated: “I see many patients who are not obese, with regular bodyweight who have contracted COVID. Even if you are healthy, you need to take precautions and follow all safety measures to prevent coronavirus. Wash your hands regularly and wear a mask whenever you step out at public places.”

The post also says that it is stupidity to wear face masks. However, according to CDC, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, CDC recommends that people wear masks in public settings when around people outside of their household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

We searched the picture of a man used in the photo using the Google Reverse Image Search tool. We found the same photo on his Instagram page captioned ”and to think I’m only getting warmed up.” He did not make any such claim in his post on Instagram as mentioned in the viral post. He also mentioned in his post that his personal pictures are used on a Facebook page without any association.

The post is shared on Twitter by a user named Ronny. When we scanned the profile of the user we found that the user has 337 followers.

Conclusion

Fake post claims that novel coronavirus only affects people who do not do workout and people who exercise are immune from coronavirus.

Disclaimer: The #CoronavirusFacts database records fact-checks published since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic and its consequences are constantly evolving and data that was accurate weeks or even days ago might have changed. Remember to check the date when the fact-check you are reading was published before sharing it.