Claims that ‘5G causes coronavirus ’ are baseless, the BT CEO has warned after several 5G masts were vandalised this week.
The bizarre conspiracy theory has been doing the rounds over the last few months, with many indicating that 5G ‘causes coronavirus ’ by ‘sucking oxygen out of your lungs.’
While there’s absolutely no science to prove such a link, the theory has led to several 5G masts being vandalised or even burned down this week.
Now, BT’s CEO, Marc Allera, has confirmed that the claims are ‘baseless’, and has urged the public to leave the company’s phone masts alone.
Mr Allera tweeted: “Phone masts keep us all connected at this extraordinary time. And yet we're seeing reports of masts vandalised because of a conspiracy theory linking 5G tech to the spread of Covid-19. This claim is baseless.
“We must look after the infrastructure and people keeping us in touch.”
His tweet also linked to a longer statement from BT, which claims that several of its engineers have been abused.
The statement explains: “There is no scientific evidence of any link between 5G and coronavirus. Fact.
“Not only are these claims baseless, they are harmful for the people and businesses that rely on the continuity of our services.
“They have also led to the abuse of our engineers and, in some cases, prevented essential network maintenance taking place.”
Meanwhile, one scientist compared damaging phone masts to ‘knocking holes in your lifeboats while your ship sinks.’
Professor Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol, said: “Viruses and electromagnetic waves that make mobile phones and internet connections work are different things. As different as chalk and cheese.
“The internet connections these networks give us are one of the most important tools we are using to coordinate our response to the epidemic and efforts to do research to overcome it. Damaging phone masts is like knocking holes in your lifeboats while your ship sinks.”
