Misleading messages claiming the second wave of coronavirus was caused by 5G mobile tower testing are being circulated on various social media platforms, according to the ministry of the communications department of telecommunications (DoT), and they are “false and incorrect.”
“There is no link between 5G technology and spread of COVID-19 and they are urged not to be misguided by the false information and rumors spread in this matter,” the department said.
It went on to say that claims linking 5G technology to the COVID-19 pandemic are false and lack scientific support. Furthermore, there has yet to be any testing of the 5G network in India. As a result, the ministry clarified that the claim that 5G trials or networks are causing coronavirus in India is “baseless and false.”
Notably, mobile towers emit non-ionizing radio frequencies with extremely low power levels that are incapable of harming living cells, including humans.
The Department of Transportation has established exposure limits for the radiofrequency field (i.e. base station emissions) that are ten times higher than the safe limits set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“DoT has a well-structured process so that TSPs strictly adhere to these prescribed norms. However, any citizen having any apprehension about any mobile tower emitting radio waves beyond the safe limit prescribed by the department, a request for EMF measurements or testing can be made on the Tarang Sanchar portal at tarangsanchar.gov.in/emfportal,” the department said.
The Department of Transportation has launched a nationwide awareness campaign to assuage concerns about the health effects of EMF emissions from mobile towers. The department is distributing pamphlets or information brochures on a variety of EMF-related topics, publishing detailed information on EMF-related issues on the Department of Transportation’s website, advertising in newspapers, and launching the “Tarang Sanchar” portal, among other things.
The Department of Transportation’s field units has also been holding public awareness events to raise awareness of the scientific facts about the health effects of EMF emissions from mobile towers.
