Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday stressed that wearing face masks even inside the households will help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) among family members.
He issued the call after records disclosed that a great number of family members were infected by the virus.
“Isipin natin ngayon ang transmission ngayon ay buong pamilya na, pami-pamilya… rich or poor talagang buong pamilya ( Let us be aware that at present the transmission involves every family. Rich or poor the whole family really," Año said in an interview over GMA News.
Año also advised the public to wear face shields aside from face masks as extra protection for COVID-19.
He noted that the public should maintain physical distancing even at home specifically on household members going out of the residence for essential purposes.
“Dapat iwasan, bigyan ng distansya, lalo na 'yung pumunta ng palengke o kaya galing sa trabaho (We should evade, provide distance especially on people going to the market or workplaces),’’ he added.
Authorities bared that aside from workplaces, densely-populated areas could also be considered as critical places as it is difficult to practice social distancing in these places.
Año added the use of face shields is also encouraged, not only in public transport vehicles, but also in other public areas such as markets, hospitals and quarantine facilities.
He explained that the LGUs have the authority to enforce these rules.
As of August 9, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that the country has a total of 129,913 COVID-19 infections, with 67,673 recoveries and 2,270 deaths.
In the same DOH data, the five provinces with the highest number of new cases were Metro Manila with 1,700, Laguna with 169, Cebu with 114, Rizal with 98 and Cavite with 93.