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Writer's pictureRed Flagged
Jan 19, 20223 min read

FALSE: Isabela citizens claim there is no COVID-19

Updated: Jan 20, 2022

Fact-checked by: Dan Guittu

 

Red Bullets:

  • Claim: Many people in Isabela claim that there is no COVID-19.

  • Rating: False

  • The truth: COVID-19 was first recorded in the Philippines in January 2020. Since then, thousands have died in the Philippines, the economy fell and industries closed.

  • Why fact-check: Some people in Isabela have started to deceive others by spreading false information that COVID-19 did not exist, all while the Omicron variant has posed a threat to our health and safety. Deception is a threat in the fight against COVID-19 as it may make the people become uncooperative.

Red Totality:


ISABELA, Philippines -- “May ubo lang, COVID na raw,” “Trangkaso lang ‘yan,” and “Gawa-gawa lang ‘yan ng gobyerno,” are only a few of the statements that are used to downplay the COVID-19 virus.


As COVID-19 cases surged after the holidays and restrictions again tightened, many once again harped on the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 was a scheme to intensify state control over the people.


Some purveyors add that the National and Local Elections scheduled for May 2022 were the reason the government eased restrictions in the latter months of 2021.


However, it is to be noted that a total of 2,089 total active cases have already been recorded as of writing, making Isabela a Critical Epidemic Risk for COVID-19. This means that Isabela has recorded a ‘high growth change rate’ in their COVID-related cases. The province has also recorded 2,110 COVID-related deaths, and 63,075 cases. Also, these cases are not diagnosed by the Local Government Unit themselves, but by the Department of Health. As of writing, the total number of deaths caused by COVID-19 is 52,929, and the total cases recorded are 3,242,374.


And although it is true that restrictions have been eased, it was because of the decreasing cases of COVID-19 during the latter months of the said year, and not because the election season was nearing. In a report from DOH, the Philippines logged the lowest daily case count since May 2020 on December 21, 2021, having only 168 new cases (excluding data from 24 laboratories).


The first two recorded patients were Chinese nationals having a vacation in the country.

COVID-19 was first observed in Wuhan, China on Dec. 31, 2019, with a clustering of Pneumonia cases of unknown cause or origin. The outbreak was later determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be caused by a new coronavirus strain. COVID-19 was first recorded in the Philippines in January 2020 with two Chinese nationals vacationing in the country. In February 2020, the Philippines recorded its first COVID-related fatality and also first outside China.


WHO declared a global emergency after the COVID-19 spread to more than a dozen countries including the Philippines, China, France, United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Vietnam. It was officially declared as a pandemic on Mar. 11, 2020 by WHO.



References:

Department of Health (DOH), “COVID-19 TRACKER.”

Department of Health (DOH), “COVID-19 FAQS,” May 2021




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