Face mask use now voluntary outdoors but…

FILE PHOTO: A student wearing a protective face mask gets her temperature taken while entering her college campus in Manila on January 31, 2020. Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Wearing face masks in “open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation” is now voluntary, Malacañang announced Monday.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 3, allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in outdoor settings while reiterating the public’s continued adherence to minimum health standards.

“Naglabas tayo today ng EO No. 3 allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in outdoor settings and reiterating the continued implementation of minimum public health standards during the state of public health emergency relating to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said in a Palace briefing.

(We issued today EO No. 3 allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in outdoor settings and maintaining the enforcement of minimum public health standards during the state of a public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. )

EO No. 3, however, stated that immunocompromised individuals, senior citizens, and those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are “strongly encouraged” to continue wearing face masks even while outdoors.

The order, Cruz-Angeles said, will take effect immediately.

READ: PH relaxes protocol after IATF recommended optional face mask use outdoors

“Face masks shall continue to be worn in indoor private or public establishments, including public transportation by land, air, or sea, and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained,” EO No. 3 reads.

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