Health Secretary Francisco Duque is not keen to support Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s call to drop the mandatory face shield policy.
In a statement sent to reporters, Duque said that the timing is not yet right to remove an added layer of protection and the government has yet to improve its COVID-19 vaccination roll out.
“Okay ang mungkahi ni Mayor Isko kung malaki na vaccination coverage natin,” Duque said.
“Hindi pa pwedeng tanggalin ang face shield policy for now when our two-dose vaccination coverage is a little over 2% due to still inadequate vaccine supply,” the health chief added.
Moreno on Wednesday urged the national government to scrap the mandatory face shield policy.
“Ang face shield ay dapat ipatigil nang i-require sa general population at gamitin na lamang sa ospital upang makabawas sa gastusin at intindihin ng taumbayan,” Moreno said in a statement.
“Tayo na lang yata sa buong mundo ang nag-re-require ng face shield sa kalsada. Dapat pag-isipan uli ito,” he added.
The national government imposed the mandatory policy in December 2020 in addition to the face mask policy.
