ILOILO City – The Philippine government is now requiring everyone to wear a “full” face shield on top of a facemask whenever they are out in public.
“You have to wear both a face shield and a face mask. And it has to be a full face shield,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said yesterday.
The new directive amends the previous Inter-Agency Task Force order which requires people to wear face shields and facemasks only when entering enclosed spaces or establishments such as malls.
Ilonggos had mixed reactions to this new policy.
Shortly after Panay News Digital broke the news on Tuesday afternoon, netizen Gerry Ledesma commented: “Nagpapansin ang gobyerno…kunyare ginagawa ang trabaho.”
Irene Cordero, a resident of Barangay San Nicolas, La Paz district, on the other hand, agrees with this new rule. It’s for the safety of everyone against the highly contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), she said.
For Tara Yap, a journalist, it would be okay but there should be exemptions, including those who wear eye glasses or are driving vehicles.
“People may not be necessarily get infected by COVID-19, but may be a victim of unnecessary accidents with the mandatory use of face shields,” Yap said.
In September, the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed an ordinance mandating the wearing of face shields/eye protectors in public places such as malls, markets, schools, commercial establishments, and office buildings.
However, drivers of public and private vehicles as well as motorists are exempted from wearing face shields while driving “in the interest of road safety.”
Another exemption provides that “face shields may also be removed according to the demands of work or when the occupational safety and health of the employees so require.”
In lieu of face shields, eye protectors such as prescription eyeglasses, goggles, or visor-type face shields are allowed. This provision addresses confrontations in malls imposing rules that require the wearing of full face shields before a patron can be allowed to enter the premises.
Meanwhile, another Ilonggo, John Bernard Feller, 21, of Barangay Abangay, Dingle, Iloilo, agreed that the mandatory wearing of facemask and face shield in public areas is for the good of everyone.
He, however, appealed to authorities to allow eye shields like eye glasses because there are people like him who are not comfortable using face shield.
“Kun tani pwede nga eye shield and facemask lang. Nainitan ako sa full face shield abi mag–gamit,” Feller said.
For Millmann Paul Chavez, 27, of Mandurriao district, the new mandate would just add up to the expenses of people, especially the “common tao.”
“Some studies in other countries suggest that plastic face shields are almost totally ineffective at trapping respiratory aerosols – it doesn’t really serve the purpose,” Chavez said.
Roque, who is also the official mouthpiece of the Inter-Agency Task Force, announced the mandatory wearing of face shields in a televised Palace press briefing on Tuesday.
The new mandate was announced as the country prepares for a possible surge of COVID-19 infections after the holiday season.
OCTA Research Team, which tracks the pandemic in the country, said a few days ago that the virus’ reproduction number has increased to 1.06, higher than the 0.95 recorded in the past week.
The reproductive number measures the number of people a patient can possibly infect. A densely populated area, such as Metro Manila, will have a higher R-number than a place with fewer people. Experts have said that an area should ideally have an R-number that is below 1 because anything higher than that will lead to a significant increase in COVID-19 patients.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health urged the public to stay at home for the holidays.
It added that visiting family and friends to celebrate could possibly lead to transmission of the coronavirus./PN
