DOH: Now is not the time to drop rules on face masks

MANILA, Philippines — Now is not the time to take face masks off, the Department of Health said Friday after the Cebu provincial government issued an order making it optional for people to wear masks outdoors.

The province's rule on masks contradicts guidelines from government's communicable diseases task force.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated the agency’s position that the mask mandate plays a “valuable” role in the government’s COVID-19 response, noting that face coverings protect people not only from the severe respiratory disease but also from other illnesses.

“Sa ngayon na nakikita nating may pumapasok na new variants, ngayong nakikita nating ang vaccination coverage in some parts of the country is still not high, nakikita natin ‘yung ating booster doses ay mababa pa rin ang uptake, sana magtuloy-tuloy tayo na magsuot ng face masks,” Vergeire said.

(Now that we are seeing the entry of new variants, seeing that the vaccination coverage in some parts of the country is still not high and seeing the low uptake of booster doses, we hope that we continue to wear face masks.)

“The threat of an increase in cases when you remove one of our restrictions, like masking, is there,” she also said partly in Filipino.

'Follow IATF rules'

According to the health official, the department was not consulted about the executive order signed by Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia.

Vergeire also stressed that local governments should comply with the protocols issued by the inter-agency task force on COVID-19 response, the government’s pandemic policy-making body.

Interior Secretary Eduado Año on Friday said the department rejects Garcia's order as it said that cops would still "arrest, if necessary" those who will not wear face masks outdoors. He also reiterated President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that the mask mandate will stay until the end of his term on June 30.

Current IATF protocols allow only for specific instances when masks can be taken off such as when eating or during well-ventilated activities.