At least seven Facebook posts are spreading several graphics claiming that face-to-face classes in public and private schools are suspended due to a supposed Nipah virus outbreak in the country. This is fake.
The Department of Education has not issued such an advisory on any of its social media pages. There are no recorded cases of the virus in the Philippines, said Albert Domingo, assistant secretary and spokesperson of the Department of Health, in a Feb. 1 radio interview.
VERA Files has monitored the earliest post with the spurious claim published by an FB page on Jan. 29. It carries a graphic with the logo of DOH and a text that states:
“NIPAH VIRUS ADVISORY
NO FACE TO FACE CLASSES ALL LEVELS PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOLS
FEBRUARY 4-5, 2026 WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY”
The post’s caption partly reads:
“Suspendido ang classes at work sa ilang mga lugar, bilang pangunahing prevention sa pagkalat ng Nipah Virus sa bansa (Classes and work have been suspended in several areas as a primary preventive measure against the spread of the Nipah virus in the country.)
𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 𝙊𝙁 𝘼𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙎:
COMPLETE LIST: https://ln.run/deped-advisory-list-of-areas-no-face-to…
SOURCE: https://ln.run/gmanews-deped-list-no-classes-nipah-virus…“
Other FB pages either reposted the exact graphic or another version even claiming that the suspension will run from Feb. 2 to 5, along with the similar unverified links. One page cited a link to the alleged class suspension advisory from Malacañang.
Neither the DepEd, DOH nor Malacañang has announced class suspensions due to the supposed spreading of the Nipah virus, contrary to what the fake posts claimed.
In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Domingo said in Filipino that the health department is “not monitoring or seeing any symptoms or history of [Nipah virus] exposure.”
In a separate statement on Jan. 31, the DOH said no cases of Nipah virus have been detected in the Philippines yet, adding that border surveillance and screening protocols are always in place in airports and ports, even without the threat of the virus.
All the links found in the fraudulent FB posts do not lead to any official government notice, but to various product pages on e-commerce websites.
The bogus graphics emerged two days after India’s health ministry said they had ensured “timely containment” of the fatal Nipah virus following two confirmed cases in West Bengal state since December. Authorities noted that nearly 200 contacts linked to the Nipah virus cases were traced and found negative.
According to the World Health Organization, the Nipah virus is “a zoonotic virus, usually transmitted from animals to humans, but can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.”
The Philippines had a Nipah virus outbreak in 2014 in Sultan Kudarat, with 17 recorded cases. No new cases have been logged since then.
Published by FB pages including Gov.ph (created on May 5, 2025) and Philippines Weather Advisory (Nov. 7, 2021 as Yskaela), the seven posts have collectively received 1,554 reactions; 284 comments; and 2,729 shares as of writing.
