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Malacañang says the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has recommended voluntary mask-wearing outdoors
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The recommendation is not yet a policy
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Implementation is likely soon, as a Department of Health official says President Marcos has “verbally approved” the recommendation
Wearing a mask outdoors may soon become voluntary in the Philippines.
This has been recommended by the force Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Malacañang announced on Wednesday.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the new tack on mask-wearing is not yet a policy. It has to be announced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself, who was in Singapore on a two-day state visit on September 6-7, following a three-day state visit to Indonesia.
Angeles said, nevertheless, that Marcos has given his “verbal approval” to the IATF’s recommendation.
She said the IATF recommended as wearing of face masks as “optional” in open, non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation.
Senior citizens and immuno-compromised individuals, or those vulnerable to infections due to illness, are “highly encouraged” to keep wearing their masks.
“Ayon doon sa IATF, ang kanilang rekomendasyon ay sa pag-liberalize ng ating mask-wearing mandate and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country,” Angeles said in a Palace briefing. (The IATF says they recommend liberalizing our mask-wearing mandate and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country.)
Department of Health officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the President has approved the IATF’s recommendation verbally.
Marcos arrived in Singapore on Tuesday for a two-day state visit following a three-day state visit to Indonesia.
In an official gathering, Marcos was shown on a news report in a crowded hall with Singapore officials and business leaders all with their masks off before he opened the Philippine Business Briefing on September 7.
Marcos also appeared before his Filipino supporters at the University Cultural Centre Ho Bee Auditorium at the National University of Singapore. The office of the Press Secretary estimated the number of the maskless, flag-waving supporters at 2,000, The Straits Times reported.
Singapore was among the first countries in Asia to make mask-wearing voluntary as it lifted its pandemic health protocols last summer.
The same policy may be adopted by the Philippines when Marcos returns to Manila from his state visits.
