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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Optional wearing of face mask seen to worsen complacency of Pinoys amid pandemic

Optional wearing of face mask seen to worsen complacency of Pinoys amid pandemic

Published Sep 7, 2022 05:31 pm

The recommendation to allow the optional wearing of face masks in non-crowded outdoor areas will only worsen the complacency of some Filipinos amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a health reform advocate warned.

(Manila Bulletin File Photo)

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF-EID) recommendation to make mask-wearing optional outdoors was confirmed by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Wednesday afternoon.

The recommendation, however, is still not a policy, Cruz-Angeles clarified. The lifting of the mandatory mask mandate, on the other hand, will be pilot tested in selected areas "towards the last quarter of 2022" provided that there is an improvement in the country's booster vaccination coverage, Malacañang added.

Senior citizens, as well as those who are immunocompromised, are still encouraged to continue wearing face masks.

A recipe for disaster

This controversial mask-wearing recommendation earned the attention of Filipino health experts, including health reform advocate Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon.

“Why are we rushing to lift face masks outdoors? not the BEST time to implement . will allow more complacency, especially in the uptake of booster vaccination,” said Leachon in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

Latest data from the Department of Health’s (DOH) National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard showed that out of the 72,671,846 individuals who have completed their primary doses, only 18,331,020 have so far been boosted.

“ dangerous recommendation without pursuing the deadline of PINASLAKAS program,” said Leachon.

Earlier, in an interview over DZRH, the expert stressed the importance of wearing masks to protect oneself and others against Covid-19, adding that among the Covid-19 health protocols, mask-wearing should be lifted last.

“The positivity rate is still up at 10 percent World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark is less than 5 percent. The cases might be under-reported given that rapid antigen tests are not reported or others have stopped testing,” added Leachon.

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