MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is pleased that the majority of Filipinos continue to practice minimum health standards against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as wearing face masks, washing of hands, and maintaining physical distancing months into the country’s fight against the pandemic.
The Palace was reacting to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Tuesday, which showed that in the past month, 79% of Filipinos “always” use a face mask when going out of their houses, 67% always wash their hands several times a day, 60% always observe physical distancing, and 56% always use a face shield whenever riding public transportation or going to establishments like malls, markets or drugstores.
According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the survey shows the government’s information drive in light the pandemic is effective.
“The success of this campaign, however, must not lull us into complacency as there is still no vaccine or cure available,” Roque said in a statement Wednesday.
“We must never fail on reminding our people to continue adhering to these COVID-19 safety measures, especially now that we have started to gradually reopen the economy,” he added.
“We have to take care of the health of our people even as we look after the economic health of the nation. As the President himself appealed, Mask, Hugas, Iwas,” he went on.
As of Wednesday, there are 311,694 confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide, including 253,488 recoveries and 5,504 deaths. [ac]