The wearing of face shield and mask is now mandatory in all public places in the Philippines to contain the further spread of the new coronavirus disease.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has amended its previous order that requires people to wear face shields and face masks when entering enclosed spaces.
The use of face masks at all times has been mandatory for months.
“It’s really because of the possibility that a surge can happen during the holidays. It’s an additional protection to prevent the surge,” said government spokesperson Harry Roque.
The World Health Organization has earlier said face masks should be used “as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission (of COVID-19) and save lives.”
The Philippine government, however, has assured that there is no surge in COVID-19 infections yet in the country.
On Monday, Roque said the number of reported coronavirus cases continues to be on a downtrend even as he warned about a possible surge because of the Christmas season.
“There are no reports stating that we already have a surge of infections but we must continue to be careful,” he said in a media briefing.
The independent OCTA research team has warned that the reproduction number of COVID-19 in Metro Manila is up slightly at 1.06.
A reproductive rate is the average number of people infected by one person in a susceptible population, according to the World Health Organization.
“To have a merry Christmas and a happy new year, let us continue to follow minimum health standards – mask, hand washing, social distancing,” said Roque.
He said lockdown restrictions in an area can be escalated if its health capacity is in danger of being overwhelmed by a rising number of infections.
“Our strategy is to resort to localized and granular lockdown. But ultimately, it’s the people who will decide whether the COVID-19 cases will increase or decrease during Christmas,” said Roque.
As of December 14, the Philippines has logged 450,733 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1,339 additional cases.
The new daily figure, however, was only based on 172 laboratories out of 192 licensed testing hubs.
The Health department reported 24 new deaths due to the coronavirus disease, bringing the death toll to 8,757, while recoveries are up by 41, raising total recoveries to 418,723.
Of the total cases, 23,253 are active.
