COVID-19 is real, and more than 1 million people in the United States have died from the disease

Three years ago, the administration of former US President Donald Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency. However, a video on Facebook denied the existence of the virus.

“If you fall into the trap of a hypothetical virus that never existed, you’d be foolish,” the August 23 publication said. “In fact, we’ve seen this happen in 2019, All the sold-out doctors got themselves into a fake pandemic.”

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat fake news and misinformation on its platform. (Learn more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

COVID-19 is real.

According to the World Health Organization, the first case of the virus was first reported on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China.

The World Health Organization also reports that from around January 2020 to August 16, 2023, there have been more than 769 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with more than 6 million deaths.

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) virus because it is genetically related to the coronavirus that started the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Various media outlets have also documented the spread of the virus over the years. The scientists also isolated the genetic data and approximate origin of the virus, and documented how different populations were affected.

While there are various theories about the origin of the virus, some scientists say it came from animals, mutated and then jumped to humans. Others say it leaked from a lab, but experts say it could be years before its true source is known, The Associated Press reported Feb. 28.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website that symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to those of a cold, flu or pneumonia. The CDC also explained that COVID-19 can attack other parts of the body, such as the lungs, and while most people have mild symptoms, over time some people may become severely ill or even develop post-COVID-19 conditions .

The World Health Organization has declared the 2020 novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic and a global health emergency.

The virus continues to affect humans and has become the dominant strain in the United States this month, according to the CDC, as new variants such as EG.5 have been reported. In the United States, more than one million people have died from COVID-19.

our verdict

A video on Facebook claimed that COVID-19 “never existed”.

More than one million people in the United States have died from COVID-19. Globally, this number exceeds 6 million.

The media reported the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only claimed many lives, but has also upended economies and the way people live.

We rated the claim that “COVID-19 never existed” as “ridiculous” and “false.”

Read more PolitiFact coverage in Spanish here.

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