At least two Facebook pages are circulating a graphic claiming that an “emergency lockdown” will be implemented starting Apr. 10 due to the alleged threat of the new COVID-19 variant, “Cicada,” in the Philippines. This is fake and was dismissed by the Department of Health.
Published as early as Apr. 1 by an FB page supposedly for weather updates, the graphic bore the logo of DOH along with the text that reads:
“PUBLIC ADVISORY
EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN COVID-19 ‘CICADA’ VARIANT STARTING APRIL 10, 2026”
Contrary to what the graphic text claimed, the caption stated that the supposed lockdown had already been enforced in some areas in the country. From Apr. 1 to 3, the FB pages also circulated links to alleged lists of “areas under emergency lockdown” supposedly from the DOH.
In an Apr. 3 advisory, the health department tagged the posts by three FB pages as “fake.”
“There is no reason to worry and to implement a lockdown. The agency earlier said on March 31 that the Philippines remains safe from this variant,” the DOH said in Filipino.
The spurious posts surfaced in the Philippines after recent COVID-19 cases linked to the Cicada strain were reportedly detected in several nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
COVID-19 variant BA.3.2, nicknamed Cicada, was first detected in a respiratory sample collected on Nov. 22, 2024 in South Africa, according to a March 19 report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been reported in 23 countries. Detections began increasing in September 2025,” the CDC noted.
Seven fraudulent posts by FB pages Weather Patrol (created on Oct. 8, 2024 as Weather Watch Philippines) and Malasakit News Update: Balitang Sapat, Serbisyong Totoo (Feb. 23, 2026) collectively garnered 3,901 interactions as of writing.
