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DOH says no lockdown order, asks public not to believe fake news on COVID-19

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Kristine Sabillo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday there has been no lockdown order on any part of the country as rumors spread on social media about such restriction amid the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. “That’s fake news. We saw that posted on social media,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing, referring to posts instructing people to resort to panic-buying.“People are panicking because in social media DOH is allegedly telling them to buy canned goods, to stock items because a lockdown is about to be imposed. No truth to that. That is fake news. We have already disowned that,” she said.Vergeire also explained that the Department of Health has yet to declare community-wide transmission, which would prompt the raising of the response alert level to Code Red, Sub-level 2.Currently, the DOH is on Code Red, Sub-level 1, placing all hospital personnel across the country on duty and making all resources available to respond to the outbreak. “A lockdown is a strategy for out Level 2 Code Alert Red. We haven’t called for a Level 2 Code Alert Red. So we should not be talking about a lockdown,” she said.The Philippines has a total of 49 confirmed cases, with 16 new ones reported Wednesday. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/20/philippines-confirms-16-new-covid-19-cases-total-now-at-49">READ: Philippines confirms 16 new COVID-19 cases; total now at 49</a></li></ul>The World Health Organization&#x27;s (WHO) representative in the Philippines has defined community-wide transmission as the uncontained spread of a the virus that is not in a clear geographical area.But so far, the DOH said they are starting to see how the existing confirmed cases are related to each other. Some of the patients are couples, while others are relatives. Still, how some others contracted the disease remains unclear as they have no history of travel abroad or contact with a known COVID-19 patient.Some 113,000 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded around the world as of Wednesday, according to the WHO. Of this number, 4,000 have died. Health institutions abroad have meanwhile pointed out that more than 60,000 have already recovered from the virus, which was first found in China. The WHO has said that 81 percent of cases are mild and those mostly prone to severe or critical cases are patients with existing conditions.President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the country under a state of public health emergency amid the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. He also suspended classes at all levels across Metro Manila to help contain the virus.

While there are now 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health said there is no declaration of a lockdown yet in any area in the country.

While there are now 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health said there is no declaration of a lockdown yet in any area in the country.

DOH says no lockdown order, asks public not to believe fake news on COVID-19

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DOH says no lockdown order, asks public not to believe fake news on COVID-19

Kristine Sabillo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 11, 2020 06:55 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 11, 2020 06:59 PM PHT

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