MANILA Mayor Francisco 'Isko Moreno' Domagoso has declared a week-long health break for all students and faculty in all public and private academic institutions in the nation's capital.
MANILA Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso urged the national government to prioritize rolling out vaccines instead of implementing the mandatory use of face shields in public areas.
“We’ve been campaigning that vaccination is the solution. More than face shield, it’s the vaccine,” Domagoso said in a radio interview earlier today.
“Sabi ko nga, bumili kayo ng Tocilizumab, hindi face shield kasi yung Tocilizumab, Remdesivir. Ngayon, may binili pa kaming bago: Molnupiravir, na nakatutulong masurvive ang COVID patient under severe and critical conditions,” he added.
Domagoso said the public deserves better from the government, especially when it comes to vaccination.
“Ang nangyari sa amin, 132 percent nabakunahan at first dose at 122 percent sa second dose. Lagpas-lagpas doon sa 70 percent at population namin kasi open policy kami. We want to vaccinate people as many as possible without asking where they live. Anybody that will go and believe in Manila at gusto magpabakuna, binabakunahan namin,” he said.
In effect, for the past three weeks, the number of COVID-19 infections in the capital were at 22 to 25 daily and active cases were pegged at around 300 despite the city’s population of two million, Domagoso said.
“Siksik pa kami. We are the most dense city, if not in the world, if not in Asia, at the very least, in the country. But records and data cannot lie. So, if that is the case, that can be duplicated all over the country,” Domagoso said.
Citing studies and practices from the United States and other countries, Domagoso urged the government to study the effects of face shields in terms of protecting the general population against COVID-19.
“A few months ago, I have been telling them to please study the effects of face shields because (the) United States of America and all other countries have already shown studies na walang epekto ang face shield in terms of protection for the general population. Pangalawa, lalo lang na-aagitate yung mga may hika. Yung mga matatanda, nadadapa. Yung mga naglalakad, nadadapa. Wala namang epekto, bakit natin pinagpapatuloy na pahirapan ang tao?” Domagoso said.
He stressed that his recent order on the repeal of face shield rules in Manila is valid until declared otherwise by a court.
“Basta sa akin, dito sa Maynila, ang kapakanan ng tao muna ang mauna. If there will be a study that will show (the viability of face shields) and science will agree that it will protect people, then so be it,” he said.
