President Duterte has left it to IATF to decide whether or not to make the use of face shields mandatory again.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE — The Philippine President has left it to the government’s pandemic task force to make a final decision on the use of face shields.
The President recognized in his meeting with Cabinet officials and health experts on Monday that face shields may provide an additional layer of protection.
However, the President said that he would just let the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases make a final decision on the matter.
“I would suggest to the Task Force to make a statement whether or not really to [require face shields again],” the President said in his “Talk to the People” public briefing aired on Monday evening. “Since we have a dearth of data [about the Omicron variant]– In the meantime, prudence will just dictate that maybe we’ll be strict again.”
READ ALSO: Nograles Tells Public To Wear Face Shields Again As Added Protection vs. Omicron Variant
President Duterte’s statement came amidst the threat of the new variant which was said to be “highly mutated” and caused the Philippines to be strict again on international inbound travel.
To recall, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. floated the idea over the weekend that the Philippine government may require the wearing of face shields anew amidst the threat of the new variant.
Last Monday, acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles advised the public to wear face shields again if they can because of the threat of the new variant.
“Kung kaya naman po magsuot ng face shield ay magsuot ng face shield para dagdag proteksyon na lamang po.” Nograles said.
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