EDITORIAL - Masking to heal as one

All health experts agree that the world must heal as one to put an end to the COVID-19 pestilence. This is true especially in countries where pandemic mobility restrictions have been relaxed. No place can behave like an independent republic, going against COVID health safety protocols set by a panel of medical experts consulted by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

IATF protocols for COVID containment are basic: keep mask on, get vaccinated and boosted, practice hand hygiene, observe respiratory etiquette. While many people seem to have tossed out physical distancing, the protocol is still encouraged by health experts as Omicron sub-variants circulate even as natural and vaccine immunity wane.

Masking is also being advised to protect against the possible entry of the monkeypox virus, which is increasingly being reported in the United States and other countries where the disease is not endemic.

So the Department of Health wants all local government units to follow uniform COVID protocols and sustain masking. The DOH gave the statement amid confusion in Cebu over conflicting orders from the provincial governor, who wants masking to be optional in public places, and the mayors of Cebu City and Mandaue who said the masking rule stays.

DOH officials have stressed that the IATF has the presidential mandate to serve as the policy-directing body for the country’s COVID-19 response, governing both public and private sectors. There are no more border restrictions within the country, so anyone can pick up the coronavirus in places with outbreaks and spread COVID freely.

Omicron has shown a high capability for breakthrough infections especially among the vulnerable sectors – the elderly and immune-compromised. The highly contagious variant continues to cause critical illness and death among the unvaccinated – and there are still millions of them across the country. Booster uptake has also been disappointing.

Those who want to make masking optional say they are merely institutionalizing the reality, as people take off masks while eating out, playing sports and doing other outdoor activities. Defenders of mask mandates cite studies showing that masking in the Philippines has been one of the highest in the world throughout the pandemic. Infectious disease experts credit this for the relatively low COVID infection and death rates even during the renewed surge due to Omicron at the start of the year. With Omicron continually mutating, it is not yet time to let down our guard.