Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday, Nov. 9 backed various local government units for moving to scrap the imposition of mandatory use of face shield for the general public.
Velasco has been pushing for this move as he found the face shields to have no actual contribution in preventing infection of the coronavirus on people.
He decried the plastic guards as being “all but useless.” "There are still no solid medical and scientific proof that face shields are effective deterrents to the spread of the deadly COVID-19," Velasco said.
“There are, however, several published medical studies noting the doubtful efficacy of face shields in preventing aerosols from spreading, which is primarily how coronavirus infects us,” he added.
The other day, Metro Manila mayors led by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said are no longer mandating their constituents to use face shields when they are not inside hospital premises.
Velasco maintained that the protection against the airborne transmission of COVID-19 is already sufficiently addressed by the proper use of face masks.
He said studies conducted by physician-researchers of Wayne State University School of Medicine indicate that combining the use of face shields and masks made little difference over the use of masks alone.
The Speaker also cited an article by researchers from the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), the country’s leading professional association of specialists in infectious diseases and microbiology.
PSMID researchers have concluded that the use of face shields may help doctors and health care workers against splashes and sprays of blood or other bodily secretions, but does not give additional protection against respiratory aerosol such as those present in COVID-19 transmission.
Velasco issued the statement after some local government units have announced they were scrapping the mandatory wearing of face shields in their areas.