MANILA - An international coronavirus tracking website flagged satirical social media posts that mention it listing the "resurrection" of a deceased COVID-19 case in the Philippines.
CoronaTracker.com denied the posts which included "1 Resurrected - First World Record" alongside its Philippine data, noting that the portal only reports COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and deaths.
"Just like any other diseases, no one resurrects from the coronavirus disease," CoronaTracker.com project head Dr. Lau Cher Han said.
The data scientist reminded the public: "Always observe precautionary measures to avoid the risk of being infected."
The posts spread on social media as the Bureau of Corrections earlier this week denied as "fake news" that high-profile inmate and accused killer Raymond Dominguez had died of COVID-19.
BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said Dominguez had tested positive for the coronavirus but was still alive and in isolation, contrary to a Manila Times story quoting the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
The agency had previously refused to disclose the identities of other high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison who had succumbed to the disease following the death of inmate Jaybee Sebastian.
The open-source tracking portal, whose content is featured in the World Health Organization's bulletin, monitors data on coronavirus cases gathered and vetted by 460 volunteers worldwide.
Filipinos can also check the tally of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines through ABS-CBN News' tracker: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/infographic/03/17/20/tracking-covid-19-cases-in-the-philippines
The Philippines as of Wednesday reported 85,486 coronavirus cases. Over 1,900 have died from the disease while close to 27,000 have recovered.
Raymond Dominguez, fact check, CoronaTracker.com, CoronaTracker, New Bilibid Prison, Gabriel Chaclag, Bureau of Corrections, COVID-19, coronavirus