President Duterte: “Yung mask will forever remain.”
PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE – The Philippine President said that he has approved the recommendation to lift the mandatory wearing of face shields in almost all areas in the Philippines.
However, the President said that face masks will forever remain while COVID-19 was still around.
President Duterte made the statement after Malacañang issued an order limiting the use of face shields to areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), granular lockdown, Alert Level 5, and quarantine and medical facilities.
The President said during his pre-recorded “Talk to the People” public briefing aired on late Monday night that the public can now do away with face shields but not with face masks.
“Ang desisyon ko is, okay tanggalin na ninyo yung shield. Pwede na ninyong, you dispense the shield but not the mask,” President Duterte said. “Yung mask will forever remain and it will be part of our day-to-day safety measures kasi matagal pa itong virus na nasa hangin lang.”
According to the President, while the COVID-19 positivity rate in the Philippines continued to decrease, it’s up to the people to make sure it will stay that way.
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Based on a Malacañang order, the following guidelines on the use of face shields in the Philippines were to take effect immediately:
- The use of face shields in community settings shall be “mandatory” for areas under granular lockdowns and Alert Level 5
- For areas under Alert Level 4, private establishments and local government units (LGUs) were given the discretion to mandate the use of face shields
- The use of face shields shall be “voluntary” for areas under Alert Levels 3, 2, and 1
Meanwhile, as the government was yet to fully implement the Alert Levels System nationwide, local government units that were not yet under the new alert level system shall have the discretion to mandate the use of face shields except in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and those under granular lockdown where it shall remain mandatory.
The use of face shields will remain mandatory in quarantine and medical facility settings regardless of community quarantine classifications. Medical workers were also still required to use face shields in healthcare settings as well.
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