EDITORIAL
FACE SHIELDS are no
longer required in areas under Alert Level 3 and lower, which includes Metro
Manila.
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved stopping mandatory use of face shields in areas under Alert Levels 1, 2, and 3, according to a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to the government’s pandemic task force.
The memorandum was issued on Monday, which was also confirmed by Medialdea to the media.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 2 until Nov. 30. However, face shields will remain mandatory in community settings for areas under Alert Level 5 — the highest classification in the government’s five-tier alert level system — and in areas placed under granular lockdowns.
For areas under Alert Level 4, local government units and private establishments have the discretion whether to still require the use of face shields or not.
In Baguio City, Mayor Benjamin Magalong has opted to follow procedures in easing up the face shield requirement.
The mayor said he will not toe the line of other local government unit heads who revoked the face shield requirement on their own without waiting for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“For us, we will wait for response on our appeals to the IATF-EID to limit the face shield requirement to Covid-19 critical areas and to the city council to amend our ordinance on its mandatory use because those are the proper procedures,” the mayor said.
He said the city has an ordinance on use of face shields. In his requests to the IATF and the city council, the mayor said the city can now consider relaxing the face shield use requirement after attaining 71.18 percent full vaccination accomplishment in adult target population which can still go as high as 90 percent by year end.
In a letter dated Nov. 8, 2021 to Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan, the mayor said the city can now consider relaxing the face shield use requirement after attaining 71.18 percent full vaccination accomplishment in adult target population which can still go as high as 90 percent by year end.
The face shield requirement is incorporated in Ordinance No. 49 series of 2021, which amended Ordinance No. 45-2020 or the Face Mask Ordinance of Baguio City.
The measure declares it “unlawful” for all persons, including tourists and outsiders, to go to public places, buildings, national roads or highway, sidewalks, walkways, or public conveyances or other similar establishments without wearing face mask and face shield until the threat of the COVID-19 is completely eliminated in the country.
The ordinance also prohibits transacting business with any person not wearing a face mask and a face shield in the public markets, supermarkets, groceries, malls, shopping centers, and government offices.
Violators face penalties of fines ranging from P500 to P2,000 and cancellation of business permit if applicable.
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved stopping mandatory use of face shields in areas under Alert Levels 1, 2, and 3, according to a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to the government’s pandemic task force.
The memorandum was issued on Monday, which was also confirmed by Medialdea to the media.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 2 until Nov. 30. However, face shields will remain mandatory in community settings for areas under Alert Level 5 — the highest classification in the government’s five-tier alert level system — and in areas placed under granular lockdowns.
For areas under Alert Level 4, local government units and private establishments have the discretion whether to still require the use of face shields or not.
In Baguio City, Mayor Benjamin Magalong has opted to follow procedures in easing up the face shield requirement.
The mayor said he will not toe the line of other local government unit heads who revoked the face shield requirement on their own without waiting for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“For us, we will wait for response on our appeals to the IATF-EID to limit the face shield requirement to Covid-19 critical areas and to the city council to amend our ordinance on its mandatory use because those are the proper procedures,” the mayor said.
He said the city has an ordinance on use of face shields. In his requests to the IATF and the city council, the mayor said the city can now consider relaxing the face shield use requirement after attaining 71.18 percent full vaccination accomplishment in adult target population which can still go as high as 90 percent by year end.
In a letter dated Nov. 8, 2021 to Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan, the mayor said the city can now consider relaxing the face shield use requirement after attaining 71.18 percent full vaccination accomplishment in adult target population which can still go as high as 90 percent by year end.
The face shield requirement is incorporated in Ordinance No. 49 series of 2021, which amended Ordinance No. 45-2020 or the Face Mask Ordinance of Baguio City.
The measure declares it “unlawful” for all persons, including tourists and outsiders, to go to public places, buildings, national roads or highway, sidewalks, walkways, or public conveyances or other similar establishments without wearing face mask and face shield until the threat of the COVID-19 is completely eliminated in the country.
The ordinance also prohibits transacting business with any person not wearing a face mask and a face shield in the public markets, supermarkets, groceries, malls, shopping centers, and government offices.
Violators face penalties of fines ranging from P500 to P2,000 and cancellation of business permit if applicable.
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