Did Singapore Perform an Autopsy on a COVID-19 Patient? No, Claim Is False!

Singapore's Ministry of Health had clarified in June 2021 that the claim about it performing an autopsy is false.

Fact-Check | The claim of Singapore performing an autopsy of a COVID-19 infected body is false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is doing the rounds on social media claiming that Singapore has become the first country to perform an autopsy (post-mortem) of a COVID-19 infected body.

• The post further stated that COVID-19 exists as a bacteria and not as a virus.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar such claims can be accessed here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: No, both these claims are false. Singapore's Ministry of Health had previously clarified that it did not perform any such autopsy on a COVID-19 patient.

• Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that COVID-19 is caused by a virus and not by a bacteria.

How did we find that out?: A keyword search on Google directed us to a post shared on the official Facebook handle of Ministry of Health in Singapore.

• Its caption suggested that a message circulating about Singapore performing an autopsy on a COVID-19 patient is false.

• The post further mentioned that, "Singapore has not performed such an autopsy. The message states false information concerning the pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection, which is not borne out by current evidence."

News report: As per a report published by The Straits Times, the Ministry of Health said that a message circulating about COVID-19 being treated following an autopsy is untrue.

• The report mentioned that the claim about a COVID-19 being discovered as a bacterium following the autopsy was also false.

The report was published on 8 June 2021.

(Source: The Straits Times/Screenshot)

Is COVID-19 a bacteria?: Team WebQoof came across information available on the official website of WHO, which said that the virus causing COVID-19 belongs to a family called Coronaviridae.

• It said that antibiotics do not work against viruses.

• The website further said, "Some people who become ill with COVID-19 can also develop a bacterial infection as a complication. In this case, antibiotics may be recommended by a health care provider."

The information has been available since January 2022.

(Source: WHO/Screenshot)

• Further, we found a video shared on the official YouTube channel of WHO. The video showed Dr Sylvie Briand, Director, Infectious Hazard Management, clarifying that COVID-19 is actually caused by a virus.

Conclusion: Evidently, the claim about Singapore performing an autopsy on a COVID-19 body is false.

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