HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday said the use of face masks should remain part of the people’s practice during and even after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as he rejected the idea of easing health protocols on the use of face masks.
In a radio interview, Duque said he was not sold to the idea of lifting the mandatory use of face masks as mentioned by National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 chief Carlito Galvez, who said that the policy would “most likely” be dropped by the fourth quarter of the year.
“I don’t believe it should be totally done away with. It’s better to be careful. It’s better to err on the side of caution. I am more conservative on that aspect,” said Duque.
“Let’s continue to wear face masks because it can help us, not just against COVID-19, but also against influenza, TB, measles, and other airborne illnesses. The mask has an added value,” he added.
Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Unit at the government-run San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, also cautioned the government against amending its face mask use policy.
Solante said government must first carefully study how lifting the use of face masks would impact on its response strategy against COVID-19 and warned health authorities about the possible emergence of new coronavirus variants and the waning effect of available vaccines after a period of time.
“I still suggest it should be there,” he said, adding: “The mandatory use of face masks still has a long way to go.”
He said that should government experts decide to ease health protocols, 90 percent to 100 percent of the targeted population should already be fully vaccinated and there are no longer cases that were locally transmitted.
The government targets to fully vaccinate 90 million of the population by the end of June this year and administer booster shots to more than 72 million Filipinos. The rest of the population will be vaccinated and given a booster beyond the term of President Duterte.
On the other hand, experts have said that the immunity enjoyed by those who have been fully inoculated and have already received their boosters may already wane by the end of the year. There are suggestions that a second booster may be needed to increase one’s protection, especially against new COVID-19 variants that would come.
The PNP yesterday said 25,331 individuals throughout the country, including 4,659 in the National Capital Region (NCR), were accosted on Wednesday for various quarantine violations. The total number of violators recorded by the PNP since February 1 is now at 438,003.
The PNP said 22,124 of those accosted last Wednesday were due to violation of the minimum public health standards (MPHS), 2,934 were for curfew violation, and 273 were non-authorized persons outside residence (non-APORs).
In Metro Manila, police accosted 4,659 for MPHS violation.
Of the 438,003 violators accosted from February 1 to February 16 nationwide, the PNP said 379,624 were for MPHS violation, 53,081 were for curfew violation, and 5,298 were non-APORs.
The PNP said 371,648 of the violators were merely warned and later sent home, while 38,952 were fined and 27,403 were brought to police stations for filing of charges.
Meanwhile, the PNP also reported that 251 areas nationwide are under granular lockdown as of Wednesday, from 300 as of last Monday.
The Cordillera Administrative Region has the highest number of areas under granular lockdown with 139, while Ilocos region has 83, NCR has 16, and Cagayan Valley has 13.
These areas are located in 121 barangays within 19 cities and municipalities and are manned by 121 policemen, four soldiers and 335 force multipliers or personnel from local government units.
The PNP said 297 households, or 363 individuals, are affected by the granular lockdowns. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Victor Reyes
