The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) should clarify the policy regarding the wearing of face shields.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian made the call as he noted how more people are now confused with this latest protocol imposed by the government’s task force against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gatchalian pointed out there are some local government units that do not seem to follow the new rule and some groups have also complained about the high cost of face shields.
“Is there a science to the face shield? Tingnan natin kung ano 'yung risk reduction ng face shield then by all means dapat nating ipatupad 'yan (Let’s look into the risk reduction for COVID of using face shield, and then by all means let’s implement that),” Gatchalian said in an interview over One News PH.
“But the next question is, affordability. Ang cost ng face shield iba-iba: may P50, may P100, may P200 -- and that becomes an affordability issue sa ating mga kababayan (for our people),” he added.
At this point, a P50 face shield is already pricey for ordinary families who are struggling during these time of a pandemic.
“At this point ang P50 malaki rin lalo na kung bibilihan mo 'yung buong pamilya mo (P50 is too much especially if you are going to buy a lot for your family). It will cost you about P300 to P400. So it becomes an issue,” he stressed.
“But if it is proven that it will reduce the risk of infection then dapat maging uniform ang application ng face shield,” he added.
As of now, he said it is still not clear if indeed wearing a face shield may cut the transmission rate of COVID among the people.
“Wala pang patakaran ngayon (there’s no specific rule) and I’m calling on IATF na magkaroon na ng (to come up with a) uniformed policy on face shields because people are confused,” he said.