MANILA – The wearing of face shields in Western Visayas is now voluntary.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said private establishments must follow the national government’s policy of making the use of face shields voluntary in areas under alert levels 1, 2 and 3.
The entire Region 6 is under Alert Level 2 until the end of the month.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approved the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF-MEID) recommendation of making face shields mandatory in areas under alert levels 4 and 5.
“Tanggalin nyo na ‘yung [face] shields but not the [face] masks,” Duterte said in his “Talk to the People” aired on Tuesday morning.
“Facemask would remain part of the day-to-day safety measure kasi matagal pa itong virus,” he added.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Monday issued a memorandum detailing the voluntary use of face shields in places with a relatively low COVID-19 alert level.
“The above protocols are without prejudice to the continuing mandatory use of face shields in medical and quarantine facility settings, and the required use thereof by healthcare workers in healthcare settings,” the order read.
The IATF-MEID, on Dec. 14, 2020, issued Resolution 88, requiring all persons to wear full-coverage face shields on top of facemasks in all public places to control coronavirus spread.
In June 2020, Duterte ordered the public to wear face shields only in hospitals but immediately decided to keep the IATF-MEID’s original policy following the presence of the more infectious Delta variant.
He later announced this September that the use of face shields would be limited to the so-called “3Cs,” which refers to “closed and crowded spaces, and close contact.”/PN
