WHO has not approved any breathing exercise to diagnose the COVID-19 virus - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 29, 2021
A 30-second breathing exercise video is being shared on social media claiming it as the self-diagnostic technique to detect the COVID-19 virus in the body. This video shows a point moving towards the marks ‘A’ and ‘B’. This post claims that if a person can hold his breath while the point reaches from A to B, it can be concluded that the person is not infected by the COVID-19 virus. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: 30-second breathing exercise can detect the COVID-19 virus in the body.
Fact: WHO has only approved PCR, Rapid antigen, and Antibody tests to detect the COVID-19 virus in the person. Earlier, when a similar 10-second breathing exercise video shared as the self-diagnostic technique to find the COVID-19 virus, WHO and PIB categorically stated this news as false. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check if any such self-diagnostic technique exists to detect if one is infected with the COVID-19 virus,  it is found out that World Health Organization (WHO) has approved only three tests to diagnose the COVID-19 virus – PCR, Rapid Antigen, Antibody tests.
As of now, these three are the only approved tests to diagnose the COVID-19 virus in the body. Earlier, when a similar 10-second breathing exercise video shared as the self-diagnostic technique to find the COVID-19 virus, WHO has clarified that they did not approve any breathing exercise to detect the COVID-19 virus. WHO stated that being able to hold breath for 10 seconds or more without coughing or feeling discomfort DOES NOT mean the person is free from the coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other lung disease.
When a similar 10-second breathing video shared as the COVID-19 diagnostic technique in India, PIB through a tweet stated the news as false.
Claim: If you can hold your breath for 10 sec without discomfort, you don’t have #Coronavirus#PIBFactCheck : Most young patients with #Coronavirus will be able to hold their breaths for more the 10 sec and many elderly won't be able to do the same.
Conclusion: #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/GXCX2Rujwb
Faheem Younus, the Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Maryland, clarified that most young patients infected with the COVID-19 virus were able to hold their breaths for much longer than 10 seconds. He emphasised that most percentage of the elder people could not hold their breath for 10-seconds, even when they are not affected by the COVID-19 virus.
Myth #3: If you can hold your breath for ten seconds without discomfort, you don’t have COVID.
Wrong: Most young patients with Coronavirus will be able to hold their breaths for much longer than 10 seconds. And many elderly without the virus won’t be able to do it.
To sum it up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not approved any breathing exercise to diagnose the COVID-19 virus.