VERDICT: Misleading

CLAIM:

A viral message on WhatsApp, which originated from Facebook has been trending in Nigeria with the claim “Wow! We’ll share! Imagine Dettol can help in fighting Coronavirus and we’re ignorant of it. It’s written on the container zoom and read’’

FACT:

The label says that Dettol is proven to kill bacteria, and viruses such as E. coli and salmonella, as well as human coronavirus. However, the novel human coronavirus [COVID-19] has never been tested by Dettol, who have also released an official statement saying, “As this is an emerging outbreak RB, like all manufacturers, doesn’t yet have access to the new virus (2019-nCoV) for testing and, as a result, are not yet in a position to confirm levels of effectiveness against the new strain.

Our products have been tested against other coronaviruses (such as MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) and have been found to kill those”.
Health and consumer watchdogs all over the world require that a product must be tested in a regulator-approved lab to prove it can be effective against 99.9% of a virus before it can make a virus-killing claim on its label or in adverts. The COVID-19 has not been tested with commercial cleaning sprays yet to see whether or not it can be killed by them.

CONCLUSION

There is no sufficient evidence to suggest that can currently kill COVID-19. StopFakeNews #CoronavirusFactCheck #COVID19 #Coronavirus