PH relaxes protocol after IATF recommended optional face mask use outdoors
Commuters wear face masks and face shields as they wait for public transportation along Escario Street in Cebu City in this photo taken on December 30, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
MANILA, Philippines — The government’s pandemic task force Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), has recommended making the wearing of face masks outdoors voluntary, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the wearing of face masks was recommended to be “optional” in open spaces, non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation.
Senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals, however, are “highly encouraged” to continue wearing their masks.
“Ayon doon sa IATF, ang kanilang rekomendasyon ay sa pag-liberalize ng ating mask-wearing mandate and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country,” Angeles said in a Palace briefing.
(According to the IATF, they are recommending liberalizing the mask-wearing mandate in the country and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country.)
For her part, Department of Health officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has given “verbal approval” on the IATF’s recommendation.
Marcos is currently in Singapore for a state visit, one of the countries which has relaxed its face masking rule.
She and Angeles, however, clarified that this is not yet a policy. / ###
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