Face shields still required outdoors, indoors – Palace

CEBU, Philippines —  Face shields are still required to be worn both indoors and outdoors, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said last night, clarifying his earlier pronouncement that such shields are no longer required in public.

Roque said that acting on the advice of health experts and in view of the Delta variant, President Duterte declared that the wearing of face shields, whether indoor or outdoor, remains mandatory.

Earlier in the day yesterday, before the latest announcement, Roque had said that face shields are no longer to be worn outdoors.

“Ang malinaw po, ganito ha, hindi na po kinakailangan ng face shield sa labas,” Roque told reporters in a morning press briefer, only to be taken back that evening.

Roque said what the Inter-Agency Task Force is appealing for is only the continued use of face shields in enclosed spaces, including malls, other commercial establishments, and inside public transport.

IATF made the appeal following the announcement of Senate President Tito Sotto that President Duterte had given nod to only requiring face shields in hospitals, not in public places.

The decision on IATF’s appeal is not yet known as of this writing.

Earlier, the Department of Health released a statement saying that the benefits of using a face shield or face mask or both, as published in various studies, suggest that one may offer better protection than the other in specific scenarios or depending on the size of particulate matter the protective equipment is blocking.

One of the studies accordingly underscores that the use of face shields alone would be inadequate, but the use of both face mask and shield can provide better protection against infections.

A study by Bhaskar and Arun (2020) among community health workers in India suggests that after the introduction of face shields to 50 of the health workers who counseled 118,428 persons in May 2020, none of the healthcare workers were infected with COVID-19.

Also, under the Living Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health for COVID-19, as of May 2021, evidence still suggest the public’s use of face mask plus protective eyewear such as face shield or goggles in areas with sustained community transmission of the virus.

However, while face shields may no longer be required outdoors, face masks are still a must even for vaccinated individuals, as recommended by experts, along with social distancing and regular washing of hands.

“Wearing mask that completely covers the mouth and nose reduces the spread of COVID-19. People who never develop symptoms (asymptomatic) or are not yet showing symptoms (pre-symptomatic) might not know that they are infected but can still spread COVID-19 to others. Masks offer protection to the wearer,” the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. — JMD (FREEMAN)