DILG wants face shield use linked to Covid-19 alert status

MANILA – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday said the use of face shields should depend on the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) situation in a certain area.

“Meaning to say kung nasa Alert Level 4, Alert Level 3 (LGUs) definitely dapat ay nagpi-face shield tayo dyan. At saka kung ang vaccination mo ay mababa, dapat mag face shield ka pa rin dyan kaya nga naka tie-up yan sa vaccination rate ng isang area (If the area is under Alert Level 4, Alert Level 3 definitely face shields should be worn. If the vaccination rate is low, wearing of face shields should also be mandatory. This is also the reason why its use must also be linked to an area’s vaccination rate),’’ Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a phone interview.

Año’s remarks came after the city government of Manila on Monday lifted the mandatory use of face shields when going out, except in medical and hospital facilities.

“Maluwag naman tayo dyan (use of face shield) (We are lenient about that). Remember when we are very strict on face shield it was the time that we don’t have (Covid-19) vaccines and we have a lot of cases and we don’t have enough healthcare facilities,” Año said.

Año, meanwhile, it is up to other Metro Manila mayors if they want to follow suit, stressing that the face shield use policy is not “a fight to the death issue”.

“Hindi katulad ng dati na wala pa tayong bakuna at talagang ang taas taas ng cases natin eh talagang strikto tayo dyan (Unlike before when there were no vaccines and the cases were really off the roof. That is why we were really strict then),’’ Año said.

However, he said local chief executives (LCEs) should be responsible for the outcomes of their policies on the matter, saying he will not take it against them as long as these policies are reasonable.

Año, however, said face shields must still be worn in high-risk areas like hospitals, daycare centers, and vaccination sites.

“But for LGUs (local government units) na on (that are) low-risk areas wanting to issue ordinances and EOs (executive orders) on the use of face shield hindi na tayo mahigpit dyan, ok lang. Ang Davao nga, voluntary na lang yung (wearing of) face shield dun (we are not strict on that, that is okay. In Davao, wearing face shields is voluntary),’’ said Año.

He stressed that the vaccination rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) is already at 87 percent, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to enforce risk-based health protocol policy in Metro Manila.

In Executive Order No. 42 issued on Monday, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso declared the use of face shields as mandatory in the city only in hospital settings, medical clinics, and other medical facilities.

The order follows the November 4 decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF EID) to lower Metro Manila’s quarantine status to Alert Level 2.