Councillor Hits Out at Baseless Myths Around 5G

1st May 2020

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A City of Wolverhampton councillor has hit out at “baseless myths” around a link between 5G mobile technology and coronavirus after 5G workers in the city were subjected to verbal abuse and threatening behavior this week. Respected scientists at the World Health Organisation and NHS leaders have widely debunked and discredited bogus and totally unevidenced claims suggesting links between 5G mobile technology and coronavirus. Such conspiracy theories are scientifically impossible – viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks. This has not stopped some people from continuing to spread misinformation via social media and some have gone further and committed criminal acts by damaging 5G infrastructure and threatening workers. Councillor Beverley Momenebadi, City of Wolverhampton Council’s councillor champion for digital innovation, spoke out after it emerged that workers in the city installing 5G infrastructure were subjected to verbal abuse and threatening behaviour earlier this week. She said: “This is happening because of baseless conspiracy theories which have linked 5G to Covid-19. These are baseless myths which have been debunked by scientists, by NHS England and by the World Health Organisation. “To be clear, there is absolutely no link between 5G and Covid-19. This disease can be transmitted through respiratory droplets and contaminated surfaces, it cannot be transmitted through radio waves or through mobile phone networks. “We will not tolerate abuse to any of our frontline workers who put themselves at risk each day to work on our networks to make sure the city can stay connected. We all have a role to play in keeping the city safe and connected. “The conspiracy theories are putting lives at risk. Our emergency services rely on our mobile networks for communication and to respond to calls for help. “If you hear of abuse to telecommunications workers or vandalism, we encourage you to report this to the police. If you come across conspiracy theories or myths, we encourage you to challenge these. Be part of the solution, not the problem.” Wolverhampton is a pioneer in the roll out of 5G technology which offers mobile internet as fast as full fibre with speeds up to 1GB. It has huge capacity to connect thousands of uses and devices at consistently ultrafast speeds. It is ultra-reliable, secure and low latency (doesn’t drop connections) which could be transformational for industry and the city as a whole. The council is working closely with WM5G to support the roll out of 5G across the city. The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.

The council’s Stay Safe, Be Kind campaign offers clear and simple advice about how people can help themselves, and how they can support others who may be particularly vulnerable at this time. For more information, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/stay-safe-be-kind.”

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