Holiday ECQ fake news, says IATF

The Philippines will not revert to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) during Christmas until January next year contrary to circulating rumors online, government officials said Sunday.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), and its implementing arm, the National Task

Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, warned the public against unverified information online and reminded Filipinos to refrain from sharing posts which aim to sow confusion.

“Fake news,” said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who also serves as IATF’s mouthpiece, reacting to tweets about the supposed enforcement of ECQ during the holidays.

Cabinet Secretary and IATF co- chairperson Karlo Nograles asked the public to stop spreading false i n formation during the pandemic.

“Know the truth. Don’t believe and spread fake news in these critical times. Be responsible to yourself and your family,” Nograles said.

Meanwhi le, NTF spokesman Restituto Padilla Jr., advised the public to verify information first before sharing it to others.

“Everyone is strongly advised not to believe news or information coming from unverified sources. Please ensure you verify or ask authorities or trusted organizations about the veracity of such information before believing and passing it around,” he said.

“Let us not be instruments of fake news distribution and help our fellow kababayans,” Padilla added.

The country remains on varying levels of quarantine classifications due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.