Fact Check: WHO Director-General Said He Was Identified As Contact Of COVID-19 Positive Person, Not Tested Coronavirus Positive

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A viral post on social media claims that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general said he had tested positive for COVID-19. When Vishvas News investigated we found that it is not what Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus actually said. He tweeted to inform that he came in contact with someone who had tested positive. The viral post is fake.

Claim

A post shared on social media claims that the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Ghebreyesus has tested positive for COVID-19. The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Vishvas News has also received the post on its Whatsapp Chatbot for fact-checking.

Investigation

We clicked on the link of the article shared along with the post. The social title of the headline is: BREAKING: WHO DG contracts COVID-19. Upon clicking the article, it mentioned WHO DG self-isolates after contact with COVID-19 positive patient.

The article is shared on social media with a fake headline.

We further investigated using Twitter Advanced Search of InVID tool and found a tweet by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO). He tweeted, “I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.”.

Here’s the tweet:

Nowhere in his tweet or subsequent tweet was mentioned that he tested positive for coronavirus.

Through a tweet, WHO also dismissed the false reports of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus testing positive for coronavirus. The tweet read: “Contrary to some incorrect reports, @DrTedros hasn’t tested positive for #COVID19. He has been identified as a contact of a person who tested positive. Dr Tedros is feeling well and is in self-quarantine as a precautionary measure, in line with WHO protocols.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) also shared in a media briefing on November 2, 2020, that he has been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. He is well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine in the coming days, in line with WHO protocols. Here is the media briefing.

Here’s the tweet:

Vishvas News spoke to the technical officer, WHO and she dismissed the claim of WHO DG testing positive for coronavirus. She said: “WHO Director-General has been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, not that he tested positive for COVID-19.”

We scanned the profile of Twitter page that shared the viral post. The page named solomanislandsblog has 94 followers till date.

Conclusion

WHO Director-General did not say he tested positive for COVID-19; he is identified as a contact of a person who tested positive. The viral post is fake.

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.