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Coronavirus: Technicians held in Peru over false 5G Covid links

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Engineers have faced abuse over a conspiracy theory wrongly linking 5G masts and coronavirus

Villagers in the Huancavelica region of Peru are detaining eight technicians who were repairing an antenna, over fears their work would spread Covid-19.

The villagers mistakenly believed that the workers - who had come to fix a wireless antenna - were installing 5G technology in the area.

False claims linking 5G to coronavirus have been widely shared online. Scientists say a connection between the two is biologically impossible.

The workers have not yet been released.

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A spokesman for Gilet, where the technicians are employed, said that the company had not heard from the workers since Wednesday evening.

"The villagers didn't allow them to enter.... they hinted that 5G transmitted Covid-19" Arieh Rohrstoc told TV station Channel N.

"They wrongly think that Covid is transmitted through radio waves. Our technology is wireless and the virus cannot be transmitted via electromagnetic waves", he said.

The villagers - from the Paucará and Yauli districts of the region - said the workers would be released if they removed the antennas, local media report.

Although Peru has recorded more than 6,000 deaths and almost 215,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, its spread in the Huancavelica region has been limited.

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