PROTECTION | Health officials are encouraging people not to discard their face masks as these will continue to protect them from COVID-19 despite the improving public health situation in recent months. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Kabataan party-list group warns the public against attempts to normalize the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the plan of the Marcos administration to make wearing face masks voluntary even indoors.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kabataan stressed that COVID-19 being an airborne disease makes wearing well-fitted face masks and proper air ventilation the best defenses against infection.
“Numerous studies have shown that the wearing of well-fitting masks and the upgrading of ventilation and air filtration have the potential to significantly reduce the chances of Covid-19 transmission in indoor spaces,” Kabataan said.
“These measures must be coupled with measures like accessible testing, efficient tracing, free treatment, intensified vaccination drives, and disease surveillance,” it added.
Kabataan is concerned about the implications of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan.
“By making masks optional and giving up on the other aforementioned measures, the Philippine government is following the trend to ‘normalize’ the spread of COVID-19. Ironically, this approach prolongs the pandemic by giving the variants of the coronavirus more opportunities to become more evasive of the immunity provided by Covid-19 vaccines,” the group said.
“Moreover, making masks optional will not automatically make the Philippines a sexy investment hub or pave the way for our economic upsurge. If fundamentals remain unaddressed such as soaring inflation, ballooning foreign debt, and joblessness, optional mask policies stand to risk raising more COVID-19 cases rather than more wealth in our country,” it added.
In a press briefing earlier, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said that the president would make outdoor masking optional, as agreed on during a Cabinet meeting.
Marcos’ decision comes just a little over a month after he made the wearing of face masks in uncrowded outdoor settings optional.
However, Frasco said that wearing face masks would still be highly encouraged among unvaccinated individuals, persons with comorbidities, and senior citizens, and in public transportation and hospitals.
Unlike Kabataan, several lawmakers in the House of Representatives have supported the administration’s move, saying that the voluntary use of face masks indoors has been long overdue.
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