S. African ICASA warns against 5G Covid-19 conspiracy theory

Johannesburg

"We all need to rely on scientifically-based evidence and refrain from these baseless theories," said ICASA chairperson Keabetswe Modimoeng in a statement released on Monday, urging people "not to be swayed by these conspiracy theories that are hell-bent on bringing instability and fear within the nation."

This follows the burning of the service providers Vodacom and MTN telecom towers last week by some people who believe that the spread of Covid-19 linked to the deployment 5G technologies, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Some of the frequencies earmarked and trialled for 5G deployment by industry players were previously assigned to various operators in South Africa-way before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in 2020," he said, adding that "such fake theories can only cause despair and unnecessary technophobia among South Africans and must be strongly condemned."

ICASA explained that South Africa followed the standards prescribed by International Telecommunication Union and the World Health Organization. There is no evidence that 5G poses any health risks to the country or its citizens.