A Facebook page claims that the National Capital Region will be placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting June 10 to prevent the spread of a so-called “Mpox COVID-19 variant.” This is fake.
There is no such thing as an Mpox COVID-19 variant. Mpox and COVID-19 are different infectious diseases. ABS-CBN News did not publish the newscard claiming a lockdown starting June 10. And, the Department of Health (DOH) has said there is no need for a lockdown due to Mpox because the virus is not airborne.
Posted on June 1, the graphic bore the text:
“METRO MANILA PLACED UNDER GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE JUNE 10, 2025”
Its caption read in part:
“Bilang pag hahanda at pag iingat, tuluyan nang isasailalim sa general community quarantine simula Hunyo 10 ang National Capital Region kung saan matatagpuan na rin ang dumaraming kaso ng Mpox Covid 19 variant sa bansa.
(In preparation for and for safety purposes, the National Capital Region will be placed under general community quarantine starting June 10. This is where rising cases of the Mpox COVID-19 variant in the country are found).”
The Department of Health (DOH) has not announced the re-imposition of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, particularly GCQ, following a reported uptick in Mpox cases in the Visayas and Mindanao in May.
It added there is no need for a lockdown because this particular virus “is not airborne.“
Reverse image search showed that the graphic is an edited version of a newscard originally published by ABS-CBN News in 2020.
The DOH also allayed fears of a surge of Mpox cases nationwide, attributing the spike in headlines on Mpox cases to more active recent reporting on the virus by local government authorities. It added:
“Mas marami pang mpox noong 2024. Mas marami ring naitala noong Abril kaysa ngayong Mayo 2025. Nagkataon lamang na naghe-headline dahil aktibo at nag-aanunsyo na ngayon ang mga LGU.
(There were more Mpox cases in 2024. There are also more cases recorded in April than in May 2025. It just so happened that it is making headlines because LGUs are active and announcing [cases] now).”
The DOH did not provide a monthly breakdown of Mpox cases but Health Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said in a May 31 interview on DZBB radio that they have recorded 911 total cases since tracking began in 2024.
Meanwhile, there are 1,774 COVID-19 cases recorded as of May.
The bogus post carried a link that led users to an e-commerce website.
Uploaded by FB page Gov.ph Update (created May 5, 2025), the post has so far received 490 interactions.
