| schema:text
| - SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Deadly face masks laced with poison have arrived in the Philippines from China.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: A post made on July 26, 2024, has resurfaced recently and is making the rounds on social media. As of writing, the original post has gained over 624,000 shares, 11,000 reactions, and 3,600 comments.
The post shows a screenshot from Facebook Messenger warning the public not to use face masks given by unknown individuals as these could be the “deadly” masks laced with poison coming from China.
Some Facebook users were alarmed by the post, with one commenter saying, “Totoo man o [hindi] yan, magpakatotoo tayo dahil buhay natin ang ingatan natin (Whether it’s true or not, let’s take this seriously because it’s our lives that we have to protect.”
The facts: The post does not mention any credible source for its claim. It says that the public warning came from Italy, but did not disclose any information about the identity of the supposed informant.
There are no reports from media outlets, Philippine health authorities, or the World Health Organization about the alleged deadly face masks.
Quality standards: In 2020, in response to the demand for public health supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced guidelines requiring exporters of medical and non-medical face masks to adhere to Chinese and foreign quality standards.
Exporters of these supplies were supposed to submit declarations for customs clearance confirming that the products are compliant with the quality standards and safety requirements of the importing country or region. The General Administration of Customs of China would inspect and release the products based on the list of manufacturers with foreign standard certification or registration.
In the Philippines, the Food and Drug Authority provides a list of registered face masks for medical use. Medical device products are required to go through the FDA’s evaluation process and be issued corresponding Product Notification Certificates to ensure the quality of the products.
hMPV in China: The false posts circulated amid reports of an increase in cases of the human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in China, which has raised fears on social media of another virus outbreak.
Health experts, however, have explained that the increase in respiratory tract infections is common during winter season and that no state of emergency has been declared in China. – Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com
Angelee Kaye Abelinde, a campus journalist from Naga City, is a second-year Journalism student of Bicol University and the current copy editor of The Bicol Universitarian. She was an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow for 2024.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)