Tonight the Ministry of Health and Wellness has issued an urgent public health advisory about fake news - being shared about a new COVID strain.
A Whatsapp message that's whipping around WhatsApp is sharing false information regarding a new COVID-19 variant, "COVID-Omicron XBB".
The bogus advisory has been circulating over the past few days, saying, quote, "Everyone is advised to wear a mask because the new COVID-Omicron XBB variant coronavirus is different, deadly, and not easily detected properly."
Sounds authoritative but it's misinformation. The Ministry says, quote, " "The message did not originate from the MOHW, nor is it endorsed by the ministry. The MOHW urges the public to disregard the WhatsApp message and not share it or any information not verified by an official source. The public is reminded that the MOHW is the official source of health information on behalf of the Government of Belize." End quote.
And while the Ministry dismisses it as misinformation - we note that while the false information is correctly condemned, no regular real time information on the current COVID is coming out of the Ministry of Health.
