Rumour of deadly virus in Ermelo refuted
Shortly after numerous people forwarded the message to Highvelder, the newspaper contacted John Whatley, who said the rumours were false and that they were trying to contact the man who made the voice note.

ERMELO – Highvelder was recently forwarded a voice note in which the speaker warns residents of a deadly virus in town, which claims have since been refuted.
On the voice note, a man claims that two business owners, John and Vivian Whatley of Ermelo Motor Spares, were very sick, and that one of their employees had survived, but that three other people had died in hospital.
The message on the voice note is: “Hello everyone, I was just in Ermelo. The people warned us that there is a huge virus problem that is deadly. Be careful with who and what you come into contact with, and who you talk to, because there have been people who have died. At Ermelo Motor Spares, one of the workers who was lying in a room with four others survived, the other three died. Men get it worse than women. John and Vivian Whatley also contracted it last week. They can’t even remember being at the store for parts of the day. It’s a terrible burning dry feeling on your chest, joints are sore, tired and you’re not in the mood for anything, so we just have to watch out and be careful.”
Shortly after numerous people forwarded the message to Highvelder, the newspaper contacted John Whatley, who said the rumours were false and that they were trying to contact the man who made the voice note.

He said the voice note caused quite the stir at their business, as numerous people called them to enquire about their health and to find out if it was safe to visit their business.
“The rumours certainly caused us to lose business, because people were afraid they would get sick and end up in the hospital,” John said.
He encouraged people to remember that it is flu season, and not everyone who is sick with a cold or the flu has a deadly virus.
“We want to ensure all our clients that they can feel free to visit the business, as the rumours were spread after the man made his own conclusions,” John said.