Singapore Asks Twitter, FB to Issue Correction on COVID Strain

The ministry called it a false statement and said that there was no “new” variant of COVID circulating in Singapore.

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Amid a row over Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s comments claiming that there is a new COVID strain in the country, Singapore’s Ministry of Health has directed Facebook and Twitter to issue a correction notice on the same for all users of social media in the country, calling it a “false statement”.

“The Ministry of Health (MOH) is aware of a false statement circulating online by multiple media outlets and social media platforms, which implies that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated in Singapore and/or risks spreading to India from Singapore,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

“There is no new “Singapore” variant of COVID 19. Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids’,” the statement reiterated, adding that the variant spreading was one that had originated in India.

The correction orders were issued under Singapore's Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.

Reuters reported that Facebook has confirmed the receipt of such an order and is legally compelled to issue the correction notice.

THE MATTER SO FAR

CM Kejriwal had on Tuesday taken to Twitter to ask the Centre to immediately cancel all flights from Singapore, stating that a new strain of the virus, found in the country, is said to be “very dangerous” for children.

Singapore denied that there was any truth behind Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s assertion and dismissed his claims.

“There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. There is no 'Singapore variant'. The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore,” the country’s Health Ministry asserted in a press release.

Further, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday that the Singapore government called India’s High Commissioner to convey its strong objection to the tweet.

Meanwhile, India responded, calling Singapore a “solid partner” and saying that Kejriwal does not “speak for India”.

Responding after the rebuke from the Singapore, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against COVID-19.

“However, irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. So, let me clarify – Delhi CM does not speak for India,” he wrote on Twitter.

However, after all this, asking to put an end to this “episode”, Singapore High Commissioner to India Simon Wong asserted on Wednesday afternoon that Delhi CM’s remarks would not impact India and Singapore’s “hand-in-hand fight against COVID”.

Wong said, “In Singapore, we have Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to mitigate misinformation and we reserve the right to invoke POFMA on assertions made by the CM (Delhi). However, we’re satisfied with GoI’s clarification.”

In view of S Jaishankar’s three-point response, Wong said that Singapore is heartened by the assurances of authorities representing the Government of India, adding, “We’re working together.”

Wong further emphasised that the “pandemic knows no boundary or political colour”.

(With inputs from Reuters.)