The City of Manila on Monday, November 8, has announced the use of face shields would be “non-mandatory” in the city except for medical and hospital facilities. In Manila’s Executive Order no. 42, series of 2021, which took effect immediately, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno cited the pending assessment of the city council on the use of face shields.
It cited that the “Alert Level 2 refers to area wherein case transmission is low and decreasing, healthcare utilization is low, or case counts are low but increasing but total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate is increasing.”
Moreno has earlier criticized the use of face shields, saying it is an additional financial burden for Filipinos, yet it does not provide people full protection against COVID-19 citing scientific studies abroad. He pointed out that the Philippines is the only country where people are required to wear face shields in public on top of their face masks.
Now, therefore, I, Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, City Mayor of Manila, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law do hereby order that, pending the review by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the city ordinance on the matter, the wearing of face shields in the City of Manila is non-mandatory except in hospital setting, medical clinics, and other medical facilities, which shall remain to be mandatory,” the Moreno said in the order.
The Bureau of Permit and Licenses office, the Manila Bureau, the Manila Health Department, and the City Hospitals were also already directed for the dissemination of the Executive Order and the strict implementation of the new policy. The non-mandatory use of face shields in the City of Manila is effective starting today, Nov. 8. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had also earlier vowed to push for the exclusion of the use of face shield in the health protocol amid the improving situation in the country.
