Government to require face coverings when out in public

By Prince Golez

Face shields will be mandatory in Metro Manila and Calabarzon, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the wearing of face shields will be part of the prescribed minimum health standards to ensure the utmost protection against coronavirus disease.

“Magkakaroon tayo ng stringent enforcement ng minimum health standard. Ito yung hugas kamay, suot ng mask, social distancing at pagsuot ng face shield. Apat na ngayon ang ating minimum health standard,” Roque said during a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte.

For National Capital Region and Region 4-A to maintain their general community quarantine classification, the secretary said the National Task Force, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic Teams will implement in areas with high community transmission a strictly localized lockdown in barangays where 80 percent of cases are located.

Also part of the measures are massive targeted testing, intensified tracing, quarantine of close contacts, isolation of confirmed cases, and strict adherence to the government’s Oplan Kalinga, he added.

Meanwhile, Roque said government hospitals in the said regions are directed to increase their Covid-19 dedicated beds up to 30 to 50 percent, while private hospitals are enjoined to increase their hospital beds for COVID patients up to 20 to 30 percent.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)