A health expert warned the national government and the public against premature lifting of Covid-19 health protocols, particularly the wearing of face masks.

Following Cebu City’s issuance of the controversial Executive Order No. 5, lifting their mandatory face mask use outdoors, health experts including University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Emergency Medicine Chairman Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa warned the public against complacency that may drive another Covid-19 surge.

“Ako ay sang ayon sa sinasabi ng Department of Health (DOH) na hindi pa tayo totally out of the woods. Kapag inalis mahirap nang ibalik yan lalo na kung dadami bigla ang kaso (I agree with what the DOH said. We are not totally out of the woods yet. Once the face mask mandate is removed, it will be difficult to bring it back, especially if there is a sudden increase in cases),” said Herbosa in a “Laging Handa” public briefing on Monday, Sept. 5.

The mandatory mask mandate, according to Herbosa, should be implemented until the country’s Covid-19 cases become stabilized or when at least 50 percent of those who have completed their primary Covid-19 dose receive their booster jab.

“I would rather follow kung ano ang recommendation ng World Health Organization (WHO) at DOH. Sinasabi nila na ang transmission talaga ay mapipigilan ng pagsusuot ng masks (I would rather follow WHO and DOH's recommendation. They are saying that the transmission may really be prevented by wearing masks),” he furthered.

PGH's Covid-19, non Covid-19 data

To further reiterate that the Philippines is still battling against the pandemic, Herbosa disclosed the latest Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 data in PGH.

“Medyo marami pa rin ang cases namin. Nakakakita kami ng 80 to 90 patients sa emergency department kada araw at ang average namin ay mga five to six cases ang nagpapositive sa lahat ng tinetest namin (We still have quite a lot of cases. We see at least 80 to 90 patients in the emergency department everyday and the average of those who test positive, out of all those that we test, is about five to six cases),” he explained

Although the recent cases were mostly mild and less severe, the expert said that the influx of patients tends to overwhelm their Covid-19 ward most times. PGH previously announced that they reduced the capacity of their Covid-19 ward when the number of reported cases in the Philippines decreased.

Despite the improving Covid-19 indicators particularly in Metro Manila, Herbosa urged the public to continue adhering to minimum public health standards such as, but not limited to, wearing of masks and practicing physical distancing.