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Hello, I'm Tina Dehealy.

Welcome to Beyond Today, where we ask one big question about one big story. Today, why would anyone spread lies about coronavirus?

Today, why would anyone spread lies about coronavirus?

At WHO, we're not just battling the virus, we're also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists

that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.

Outside of China, coronavirus has spread to 24 other countries.

In the UK, as of yesterday, there were eight confirmed cases.

Coronavirus is spreading and so is a lot of misinformation.

It's diverting the attention of decision makers and it causes confusion and spread sphere to the

general public.

You might have been included in a chain message on WhatsApp spreading unfounded rumors all seen something about bats and

coronavirus on Facebook.

While a lot of it may be untrue, it's hard not to feel worried about it.

I'm concerned, yes, because I think it's bringing it home.

It's a global problem, but suddenly it's on the doorstep.

It is scary to see how quickly it is going everywhere and how deadly it seems to be.

Well we do know that the race is on to track down anyone who came into contact with two gps in Sussex who've tested positive

with the virus. They worked across four different sites and saw 12 patients in the

Brighton and Hove area before they realized they had it and went into isolation.

Christina lives in the same area and says her local community has been caught up in a

wave of what's up confusion.

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