FILE PHOTO. Photo taken on Sept. 8, 2020 shows passengers wearing face shields as their temperatures are taken before boarding a bus in Manila. TED ALJIBE/AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has urged local government units to hold their executive orders until the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases comes up with a decision on the use of face shields.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they will be meeting with experts to discuss the re-evaluation of the face shield policy.
She said result of the meeting will be presented before the IATF meeting on Thursday.
“Nananawagan po tayo sa ating mga local government units na antayin po natin yung IATF na makapagbigay ng kanilang desisyon regarding face shield. Until we can have the IATF resolution, we urge all local government units to just hold their executive orders or their issuances so that we can all be uniform in our implementation and we are all aligned,” Vergeire said during Monday’s COVID-19 Media Forum.
The City of Manila has already ditched the use of face shield except in hospitals after Manila Mayor Isko Moreno has signed an executive order for its limited use.