Pampanga capital may ban small children from malls after being seen without face masks

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The city government here is set to issue guidelines that might prohibit small children from entering malls and other indoor establishments.

This came after the city’s Incident Management Team (IMT) monitored several infants and toddlers inside malls not wearing face masks.

“During the recent random inspection of the IMT in two major malls in the city on November 18, 2021, it was observed that some minors, including toddlers/infants, were not wearing face masks or any protective face coverings,” Raymond Del Rosario, IMT commander and head of the City Disaster Risk reduction and Management Office, said in a statement.

He said city officials find the presence of infants and toddlers inside malls worrisome since the latter cannot be obliged to wear face masks and other protection.

“There is danger here for the children. That is why we are appealing to parents to refrain from bringing their small children in the malls if they do not have any essential purpose in malls or other indoor places,” he added.

Del Rosario said new guidelines will be released soon.

The city government cited the Inter-Agency Task Force’s rules in areas under Alert Level 2 which allows individuals, including those below 18 years old, to go out of their homes to obtain essential goods and services if they are accompanied by their parents or adult relatives.

It also cited President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement asking local government units to disallow the entry of young children in malls through local legislation.

“If the national government will issue guidelines on this, we will support it. If not, we will make localized guidelines,” Del Rosario said.

On Friday, this city registered four new COVID-19 cases, four recoveries, and a single death. The fatality was a resident of Malino village.

It has recorded a total of 11,269 cases since the pandemic broke out last year. Of these, 10,895 have recovered while 325 died.