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.
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.
To sum it up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not approved any breathing exercise to diagnose the COVID-19 virus.
