By Noel Lontoc
LOCAL chief executives (LCEs) in Metro Manila will recommend to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to lift the order of mandatory wearing of face shields in public places, including crowded and confined areas, except for some that have been declared critical for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, MMDA chairman Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos Jr. clarified that under the metro mayors’ recommendation, face shields can generally be removed or people need not wear them except in places such as hospitals, health centers and public utility transportation.
“We will recommend the scrapping of mandatory wearing of face shields to the IATF especially since the majority of the eligible population in Metro Manila is already fully vaccinated and the average daily attack rate as well as the number of Covid-19 cases are going down,” the former Mandaluyong City mayor explained.
“We will forward our official position to the IATF who will have the final say,” he added even as he noted that if given the go signal, face shields will no longer be required even in malls.
Since December 2020, the IATF-MEID has been implementing the mandatory use of face shields in all public spaces to curb the further transmission of Covid-19, but in September, however, no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself ordered the removal of the face shield rule except for areas that are closed, crowded and people are in close contact with others.
As this developed, Abalos likewise announced that majority of metro mayors have agreed to require vaccination among exhibitors and sellers at tiangge and pop-up night markets for the safety of the public.
“Since tiangges are seasonal and often last for only two months and sellers come from different areas, it is only proper to require them to be vaccinated,” the MMDA chairman concluded.
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