FACE UP This young vendor in Pasay City may need to think of a new ware to sell since the government is lifting the requirement on face shields in areas under alerts level 3, 2 and 1. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ (File photo)
MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera rejected on Tuesday the proposal to return the mandatory use of face shields due to the threat of the new coronavirus variant Omicron.
Herrera said the government should instead tighten its border controls and include airports, hotels, and tourist transport vehicles as high-risk closed spaces.
“Mandatory face shield use would be an overreaction and exaggeration at this point or in the near future because there is no confirmed local transmission of the Omicron and there is no confirmed entry of any Omicron variant infected person,” Herrera said in a statement.
On Sunday, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government was eyeing the return of the mandatory use of face shields, adding that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III favored the proposal.