Despite the catchy name, no, coronavirus has nothing to do with Corona beer.
Google Trends has noted that search interest for “coronavirus symptoms” has skyrocketed by 1,050 percent. Other top search phrases related to the deadly pathogen, also known as nCoV, included questions about how coronavirus is spread, its origins, prevention and death rates.
Here’s what we do know about the coronavirus: the current outbreak originated in Wuhan, China; symptoms include congestion, runny nose, fever and sore throat, much like the flu; it’s most likely spread via coughing, sneezing or physical contact with an infected person.
What we also know is that nCoV is not derived from nor related to the Mexican pale lager Corona Extra and Corona Light. But that seemingly obvious fact didn’t make it to the many who, as BoingBoing reported, were engaging in another alarming search trend that, at once, reveals both our deepest fears and desires: “Corona beer virus.”
Sure, the two terms do share the root word “corona,” which comes from the Latin corōna meaning “crown,” and translates the same way in modern languages including Spanish and Italian. The respiratory infection, first identified in the 1960s, was named for its crown-like shape.
Meanwhile, the crisp, light beer, first brewed in 1925, uses a crown as its logo, and may very well have been inspired by the brew’s golden hue. The countries getting called out for their ill-informed Google queries include Brazil, Australia, India, France, Germany, England, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the US, among few others.
Unfortunately, there’s an even more frighteningly stupid rumor spreading from Dr. Google’s waiting room — that the potentially fatal illness can be prevented by guzzling bleach. The Daily Beast reported that the appallingly smooth-brained conspiracy theorists at QAnon have been advising their followers on social media to purchase and drink a product called Miracle Mineral Solution / Miracle Mineral Supplement (or MMS, for short), which is made with an industrial bleaching agent. They say the so-called cure-all can treat everything from cancer to HIV / AIDS.
A Twitter user dubbed “Chief Police 2,” who is known to be a leader among QAnon’s disciples, recently urged his 17,800 followers to “protect yourself with the 20-20-20 spray,” an MMS concoction. According to the Food and Drug Administration, consuming MMS can cause “severe vomiting,” “acute liver failure” and death, obviously.
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