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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday warned the public regarding a false information being circulated about the Omicron XBB subvariant of COVID-19.
According to the DOH in a statement, the false message reportedly attributed a DOH Department Memorandum, which purportedly say inaccurate information about the subvariant.
“The Department of Health (DOH) warns against messages linking DOH Department Memorandum No. 2022-0578 to disseminate inaccurate information on Omicron XBB Subvariant symptoms,” said DOH.
“The said document was issued to intensify surveillance activities amidst rising COVID-19 cases abroad,” it added.
The DOH reminded the public that COVID-19 exhibits Flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, headache, body pain, and diarrhea, among others.
On Tuesday, the DOH also warned the public against another message being disseminated about an “upper respiratory infection” in China.
This prompted the department to remind the public to make sure that any kind of health information is sourced only from the DOH’s legitimate platforms, particularly, the verified social media accounts or their website.
China is in the middle of a surge in COVID-19 infections, which came just a month after it lifted COVID-19 restrictions.
The surge prompted several nations to require COVID-19 tests on travelers from China.
Meanwhile, the DOH previously said no cases of XBB 1.5 subvariant — a recombinant of the BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 sub lineages, and is known to have spread at an alarming rate in the US with its high ability to evade immunity — have been reported in the country, yet.
However, the DOH earlier reported that eight Filipinos who traveled from China had been infected with COVID-19 upon arriving in the country. All individuals were unvaccinated.
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