For those who do not relish the thought of using face shields again while out in public, don't fret.
Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles clarified on Wednesday, Dec. 22 that President Duterte's remarks prompting Filipinos to continue using face shields is "just a reminder" and not a policy.
"Iyong alert level 2 guidelines po natin (Our alert level 2 guidelines) very clearly state na iyong (that the) face shields are voluntary except in healthcare settings and hospital settings. So, iyon lang po ang mandatory (Only those situations are mandatory)," Nograles said during a virtual press conference.
"Iyong sinabi po ni Pangulo kagabi (What the President said last night) is just a reminder to people that it’s voluntary at dahil may banta ng Omicron at ito nga, iyong laban natin against COVID-19 (and because there's the Omicron threat as well as our continued fight against the coronavirus disease), the face shields still act as an additional layer ," the Palace official explained.
In the "Talk to the People" public briefing that aired late Tuesday night, Duterte advised Filipinos not to ditch face shields and instead continue to use them.
“Kaya yung talagang gustong di kayo matamaan, huwag niyong itapon yung shield (For those who do not want to be infected, don’t throw away the shields), continue using it, I advise you. Because I really firmly believe that the wearing of that face shield has contributed a lot,” Duterte said, referring to the consistently low fresh daily COVID-19 cases that the country has been recording for weeks now.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is being blamed for horrific surges in other parts of the globe. In the Philippines, only three Omicron cases have been detected so far.
"So, kumbaga (in other words), as a good father of the family, ang paalala lang ni Pangulo is (the President is only reminding us that) if you want to be really fully protected, bagama’t voluntary pa iyong face shields (even if face shield use is voluntary), that is an added layer of protection against COVID whatever variant, including iyong (the) Omicron variant," Nograles said.
Nograles also serves as spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF--the body that formulates the government's response mechanism against the COVID-19 pandemic.