Malacañang confirmed that President Duterte said that face shields should only be used in hospitals.
Malacañang recently confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte had agreed that face shields should only be used in hospitals.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed Sotto’s remark during his regular press briefing on Thursday, saying “What the President has decided, then that’s the policy.”
“The President did say that the wearing of face shield should only be in hospitals. What the President has decided, then that’s the policy. The discussion also focused on mayroon ba talagang ibang bansa na nagpapasuot ng face shield. Let’s leave it at that kasi ‘yon lang ‘yong talagang words that came out of the President’s mouth,” Roque said.
READ ALSO | Sotto: President Duterte Says Face Shields “Should Only Be Used In Hospitals”
However, Roque noted that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) that advised President Duterte on COVID-19 response would meet today and could agree to appeal the rule on face shields.
Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, a professor of theology and biology at Providence Colleges in the United States, said that face shields could offer an additional 9% of protection against COVID-19.
Earlier, the health department said that face shields may be removed when outdoors, but face shields must still be worn in closed spaces. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that it was against the removal of face shields in open-air settings.
Sotto and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno were among the politicians who had been encouraging the national government to scrap the mandatory wearing of face shields in public areas, saying that the Philippines was the lone country that required the additional protection on top of face masks.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, however, rejected those pleas and noted that the policy was backed by science. With this, Duque said that the DOH will appeal if face shield rules in the country were loosened.
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