It was not an April Fool’s joke: there is a countercultural belief that 5 G technology has caused the coronavirus pandemic. While it is true that there is an on-going debate about the effects of 5 G on human health, there is no evidence that 5 G has the same effects as seen by the coronavirus, although, if 5 G does impact upon human health, this will be one further factor lowering human immunity and health, this having an indirect impact. Anyway, some people are going over the top on this, literally burning down towers.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11311306/bizarre-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-whatsapp/
https://www.rt.com/sport/484967-coronavirus-5g-amir-khan/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11320198/coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory-masts/
“Conspiracy nuts are reportedly setting phone masts alight and targeting engineers after a bizarre claim 5G "radiation" caused the deadly coronavirus spread. The theory originated last month after a video filmed at a US health conference claimed Africa was not as affected by the disease because it is "not a 5G region". The myth was quickly debunked after the World Health Organisation confirmed there were thousands of Covid-19 cases in Africa. The government has also confirmed there is "no evidence to suggest that 5G has anything to do with Covid-19". Celebs have been slammed for sharing the conspiracy theory, including Jason Gardiner and Callum Best, who posted similar claims that 5G can impact the immune system. But the claims have still been doing the rounds on WhatsApp via a lengthy voice note - with phone masts now being set alight in the UK. Engineers are now also being targeted with social media users encouraging each other to destroy the masts in a Stop 5G Facebook group.