Refute

During the past few days, news spread alleging the existence of a mutant of the Corona virus called “Hehe”, which appeared in China, with the claim that it is the fastest spreading and most deadly of the Corona mutant.
A number of media professionals discussed in their television programs the danger of the strain, and Dr. Muhammad Awad Taj El-Din, the President’s advisor for health affairs, spoke about it.
In the post, we will explain the origin of the topic and the fact that this new mutant exists. ⬇️⬇️
# Has a new Corona mutant appeared called “Hehehe”?
No, according to the World Health Organization, no new mutant called “hehehe” has appeared.
Dr. Abdel Nasser Abu Bakr, Head of the Infection Risk Management Team in the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean at the World Health Organization, said, commenting on the news of the emergence of the Hehi mutant: “We do not know of any new mutation for Corona, and we have not heard about a new sequence in China, and it is news that is valid on social networking sites.”
He added, “There is no data on this mutation, and we continue to work with countries in this regard,” explaining that the World Health Organization is the one who determines the name of the new mutations, and in order to do that, the mutation must be known first.
The same words were confirmed by Gamal Esmat, WHO advisor on hepatitis viruses, explaining that the last mutant was “Mo.”
The “World Health” is the one who monitors and names the new mutant, and by searching the organization’s website, we found that among many of the mutagens that were monitored, there is no mutant named Hehi, and the last mutant that received a designation was “Mo”, who was first detected in Colombia, in January 2021, and renamed in August of the same year.
There are currently 14 new corona mutations that are subject to monitoring by the World Health Organization, but they did not get names in the Greek alphabet, like other relevant ones, and their names are still letters and numbers.
# What is the origin of this rumor?
The rumor of the “Heyhi” mutator is circulating in the Arab media and social networking sites, but it has little presence in other languages.
The origin of the topic is what was reported by Chinese and international media, about the authorities of the city of “Heihe” (Heihe is pronounced in Chinese), located in Heilongjiang Province near the border with Russia, announcing a reward of 100,000 yuan ($15,500) to local residents who provide important clues to tracing The origins of the recent spread of the Corona virus in the city, as the city recorded, within a few days, 240 infections.
The city government said that tracing “the sources of the virus and its chain of transmission is a top priority, and that a people’s war is needed to prevent and control the epidemic,” vowing to reward those who provide information and impose severe penalties on those who hide it.
The emergence of cases began in Heilongjiang Province, and the city of Heihe in particular, in late October, as the Chinese “global times” website reported, on October 28, 2021, that closure measures were imposed in Heihe City, and work in customs, railways and all non-essential sectors was suspended. .
The same website stated in a report dated November 1, that the cases that appeared in Heihe are of the imported “delta” strain, and most of the infections were identified as non-serious cases, and no new strain was mentioned.
We believe that the emergence of the rumor came due to poor translation, and the sites transferring from each other without checking or referring to the original sources, as some believed that the recent cases in Heihe were due to a new strain of Corona.
The spread of the rumor reinforced, coinciding with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce inviting citizens to stockpile a quantity of basic foodstuffs, which raised people’s fears, before the Chinese media made it clear that the matter was precautionary, and related to making sure that citizens would not be surprised in the event of a closure in their area in case Increasing infections with the Corona virus.
The Chinese People’s Daily said the Ministry of Commerce issues such notifications every year, but it issued its instructions early this year due to natural disasters, high vegetable prices and the recent COVID-19 cases.