Reports have gone viral on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms in recent days, claiming that Covid-19 is caused by or linked to the deployment of 5G technology. In fact we have heard reports of people in UK burning 5G towers thinking the will combat the spread. The disease is existing even in countries without any 5G networks such as Iran. Experts from around the world have come out strongly to debunk this conspiracy theory.
So explain how false this is, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has come out to explain that all wireless communication including radio and television broadcasts, signals sent to astronauts, telecommunications, remote control operations, communication between a pilot and the airport control room, use radio waves that travel through space at the speed of light The radiowaves (including microwaves are a part of the electromagnetic spectrum shown in the figure below
It’s important to note is that radiation exists all around us, coming from both natural sources such as the sun and man made sources. The radio waves used for telecommunications fall in the “non ionizing portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
5G (fifth generation) is the latest wireless communications technology that is taking the world by storm with super fast data speeds (up to 10 Gbps depending on the deployment), greater data transmission efficiency and lower latency that enables close to real-life/instantaneous information transfer experiences
When compared to the older mobile telecommunications technologies like 2G, 3G and 4G, such performance will boost the implementation of various developmental and societal applications including, but not limited to, remote surgery and other healthcare solutions, automated manufacturing, transport management and smart farming. The deployment of 5G is being achieved using different frequency bands, including those already in use by 2G, 3G and 4G.
Covid-19 concerns vs 5G
Concerns about the possible effects of telecommunications towers on human health are not new and have been resurfacing with each new technology. However, the substantial amount of research so far carried out by recognized institutions such as the World Health Organization (the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC and Health Protection Agency HPA with regard to the probable health risks do not support these theories.
As for COVID 19 experts maintain that it is caused by a virus that spreads through person to person contact and not through radio waves. This position is backed by the various international and national communications and health institutions, including the World Health Organization (WHO).
The leading global authority on non ionising radiation is the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection ICNIRP which provides scientific advice and guidance on the health and environmental effects of non Ionizing radiation to protect people and the environment from harmful exposure.
UCC advises that all radio frequency spectrum users in Uganda are obliged by the Uganda
Communications Commission (the Commission) to comply with. ICNIRP guidelines in their installations and operations ICNIRP recently published its 2020 Guidelines on Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields, which seek to protect people against all potential adverse health effects related to exposure to 5 G technology radiation.
“We know that parts of the community are concerned about the safety of 5G, and we hope the updated guidelines will help put people at ease,”. ICNIRP Chairman Dr Eric van Rongen said in a statement. Similarly, the World Health Organisation says it has conducted research and found that” no adverse health effect has been causally linked with
exposure to wireless technologies.”
On its part, the International Telecommunications Union ITU the specialized United Nations agency responsible for ICTs, recently put out a statement that:”There is no scientific basis whatsoever for any relation between the diffusion of Covid-19 and 4G or 5G or electromagnetic waves in general Now more than ever, we need digital networks to
support a vital health response plus sustained economic recovery.”
In trying to explain the apparent popularity of the conspiracy theory, a social Chartered Psychologist Dr Daniel Jolley, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Northumbria who has made an extensive study on the social psychological consequences of conspiracy theories, pointed out that conspiracy theories give people a sense of certainty in
times of uncertainty We know that conspiracy theories are a way to cope with stressful or little understood situations such as Covid-19, so it makes sense that the 5 G conspiracy has come to the fore,” he said.
5G Trials in Uganda
Uganda has only had a one week demo of the 5 G technology that was localized to MTN Offices in Kololo in January 2020 This, therefore, weakens the argument that 5G is the reason for Covid-19 in Uganda.
UCC, associates with the position of the subject experts,it’s international, regional and national partners, that Covid-19 is a disease and 5G is a technology with no relation between them.
The Commission has pledged to continue reviewing the available research on 5G and
the guidance on standards provided by the respective expert organizations to ensure the protection of the Ugandan population.
