Netizens on Thursday were looking for an alleged COVID-positive woman who was supposedly allowed to sneak out of her quarantine hotel to party at the hip Poblacion district in Makati City as authorities said a possible quarantine breach was being investigated.
Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she was in touch with authorities to verify reports that an individual was allowed to leave a quarantine hotel ahead of time. She did not name the person or the facility, which she said would be asked to respond to the allegation within three days.
On Thursday, "Poblacion" was trending on Twitter with 55,000 posts while "Gwyneth Chua" got nearly 4,000 posts. Puyat did not name the quarantine violator nor the location of the hotel.
The Department of Health issued a blanket statement reminding Filipinos and other travelers from abroad to follow quarantine protocols especially in light of the Omicron variant.
"Hindi ngayon ang panahon para mag-relax at ilagay ang ibang tao sa panganib," the DOH said.
MORE ON OMICRON:
DOH Monitors 'Uptick' in COVID Cases During Christmas Week
Omicron, Delta Join Forces for COVID Tsunami with 6 Million Cases in a Week
Omicron Pushes Daily COVID Cases in U.S. to New Record