BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The wearing of facemasks in outdoor spaces is now optional in Negros Occidental.
Executive Order (EO) No. 22-45 series of 2022 issued by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday morning established the guidelines on the wearing of facemasks within the territorial jurisdiction of the province.
The use of facemasks would still be required in indoor spaces such as shopping malls, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities, the EO stressed.
Earlier, Lacson said he will appeal to senior citizens and immunocompromised persons to continue wearing facemasks.
Meanwhile, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire earlier said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is expected to issue an executive order easing the use of facemasks in outdoor settings.
For his part, OCTA Research Fellow Guido David said the risk of getting infected without a facemask outdoors is very low.
“Based on science, the risk of transmission in outdoor spaces, areas not crowded is very low. But in closed areas, there is still the risk of transmission just like in wet markets,” David said./PN
