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Wearing of face mask still the low-cost health intervention vs COVID-19–Hontiveros
Wearing of face mask still the low-cost health intervention vs COVID-19–Hontiveros
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, October 26 said the wearing of face mask and observing other minimum health protocols is still the best and economical intervention against COVID-19.
Hontiveros made the statement in light of the Marcos administration’s plan to make the wearing of face mask voluntary.
The senator said the public still ought to remember that “an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.”
“Well speaking of timing, the two times are approaching when we Filipinos will gather together with our families and clans, and we know from previous surges that the trigger was family reunions,” Hontiveros said in a press briefing at the Senate.
“So let's learn that lesson and use it in preventive health practices. Masking is one of the lowest cost interventions. And we know in public health and enshrined in our universal healthcare law, the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” she said.
“If our health practices become preventive proactive promotive, more economical like masking, and more economical than the ones with COVID, knock on wood, it will get worse, add strain and burden to our extra effort public health system,” she added.
Likewise, the lawmaker said the public should also watch out for the new COVID-19 variants that may emerge as families start to gather during All Saints Day and Christmas.
“It won't be bad, but it's good that we continue to wear masks especially in indoor and air-conditioned places even outdoors especially if we have family members, or households that have people who are immunocompromised or are seriously ill, that's not bad anymore,” she said.
Hontiveros said the Philippines should follow the South Korean government’s COVID-19 protocols as an example.
“If we have followed the government of South Korea, a country that is much more developed than us, they will continue with mandatory masking for at least three more months, due to similar concerns,” Hontiveros pointed out.
“They have a higher rate of vaccination, at least boostering more than us. So, I think that while the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, and there are diseases of international concern, like monkey pox and others, it would be good if the minimum public health protocols including masking are still observed,” she stressed.