MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health, which chairs the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, tagged a post made by one of the special advisers of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 as "fake news" on Wednesday.
In a graphic posted to his personal Facebook page, NTF advisor Ted Herbosa claimed that the pathogen came in three stages depending on which body parts symptoms were experienced in.
Herbosa, a health undersecretary himself from 2010 to 2015, also claimed that "Covid only in nose" could be solved in half a day by steam inhaling or tuob, while "Covid in throat" would have a "one-day recovery time" by gargling warm water or taking antibiotics for severe cases.
"[For] Covid in lungs, coughing and breathlessness for 4 to 5 days. (Vitamin C, B complex, hot water gargle, oximeter, paracetamol, cylinder if severe, lot of liquid required, deep breathing exercise," the graphic adds.
READ: Practicing 'tuob' will not kill COVID-19, DOH says
In a graphic of its own, the health department reminded the public: "COVID-19 is classified according to the severity of the patient's symptoms."
"Recovery from the coronavirus is also based on the number of days that a patient may be infected. Steam inhaling and drinking vitamins are not part of the clinical practice guidelines, while COVID-19 is a virus, so this does not need antibiotics," the department also said.
The DOH also reiterated its earlier recommendations for any patients, saying: "If you are experiencing symptoms or if you are a close contact, immediately self-isolate and call your local [Barangay Health Emergency Response Team] for the next steps."
Earlier, Herbosa signed a statement with seven others expressing support for the Department of Transportation's newest policy reducing the physical distance required on public transportation from the original one meter prescribed by the World Health Organization to 0.75 meters, and later half a meter.
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The health department also opposed this move, citing figures from a think tank of medical experts that said the move could add almost 700 additional coronavirus cases per day.
As of the department's latest case bulletin issued Wednesday afternoon, the national caseload stands at 272,934. — Franco Luna