Claims linking the use of 5G technology with the spread of COVID-19 have been doing rounds, and so, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has now issued a statement asserting that these two phenomena are not linked whatsoever. It also urged people to not be influenced by such false and baseless claims that circulate over social media platforms. The official statement also stated that these claims, which state that trials or networks using 5G mobile towers are the reason behind the second wave of COVID-19 in India, have no scientific basis.
The department also clarified that nowhere in India had the testing of 5G network begun yet, which rendered the claims linking the technology with the recent surge in cases “baseless”.
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In the statement, the department said that the non-ionizing Radio frequencies that mobile towers emitted had “very minuscule power” and they were not capable of harming any living cells, including humans. It further stated that the norms prescribed by the DoT to limit the exposure for Radio Frequency Field or Base Station Emissions were 10 times more stringent than even the safety limits that the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) prescribed and the WHO recommended.
The department also said that the DoT had put in place a well-structured process to ensure that the telecom service providers followed the norms it prescribed. Even so, if any citizen had any apprehension regarding these emissions, they could request EMF measurement/testing on the Tarang Sanchar portal, it asserted.
Statement from the DoT came after the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) dismissed these rumours as unsubstantiated and unverified claims last week, after it came across several messages on social media linking 5G trials with COVID-19 spread.
