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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Expert defends face shield mandate despite fresh calls to scrap the policy

Expert defends face shield mandate despite fresh calls to scrap the policy

Published Nov 3, 2021 03:33 pm

An infectious disease expert on Wednesday, Nov. 3, stood by the national government's face shield policy, citing added eye protection against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) despite fresh calls to scrap the mandate.

Ricardo P. Cruz Sr. Elementary School in Taguig, City conducts a simulation of face to face class on November 3, 2021, Wednesday, where grade school teachers pose as kinder and grade two pupils (NOEL B. PABALATE / MANILA BULLETIN)

Renewed calls to scrap the face shield policy in the country were made after the Department of Transportation said plastic barriers for separating passengers inside public utility vehicles were no longer required admitting that its use "was not science-based."

In a Facebook post, Edsel Salvana, a member of the Department of Health Technical Advisory Group, said that to get rid of extra precautions such wearing of face shields, "it must be used now so we won't need them in the future."

"Never-ending complaints about face shields. Sick and tired of it. It has clearly been politicized. People keep comparing them to masks which is wrong because they are meant to be used with masks," Salvana reiterated.

"Other data shows they work well against smaller droplets so a combination approach makes sense. We didn't recommend double masking when recommended it for Delta because mask + shield is considered a double layer," he added.

Salvana also stressed that face shields are meant to serve as eye protection.

"Yes, you can get COVID-19 through your eyes since it is a mucous membrane. The virus has also been found in tears. So you can either wear goggle + double mask, or mask plus face shield to approximate that protection."

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) is studying the possibility of lifting the current policy on the use of face shields in the Philippines.

Roque said the significant decline in COVID-19 cases might persuade the IATF to withdraw the requirement of wearing a face shield on top of a face mask.

In September, President Rodrigo Duterte scrapped the use of face shields outdoors. Filipinos are only required to wear them in closed and crowded areas.

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face shield Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases
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