By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
FACE MASKS STILL REQUIRED. Seniors wearing face masks while waiting for their turn to receive vaccines to protect them from Covid-19 infections in this file photo taken in Bacolod City. President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday (June 17, 2022) called on the public to continue wearing face masks and observing other health protocols. ( PNA file photo)
MANILA – President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is encouraging the public to continue wearing face masks and observing other health protocols amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Marcos made the appeal after the Department of Health (DOH) warned of
the possible rise in severe and critical Covid-19 cases by August because of
the waning immunity from the coronavirus vaccine and reduction in adherence to
minimum public health standards.
“We have to wear face masks and comply with other health standards to
ensure our safety and that of our loved ones,” he said in a statement issued
Friday.
The Cebu provincial government earlier issued an ordinance on the
optional use of face masks, but Malacañang clarified that the local directive
was not supported by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Palace said the policy on mandatory wearing of face masks crafted
by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious
Diseases and approved by Duterte prevails over the local ordinance.
Marcos likewise emphasized the need for continued compliance with the
health protocols, to prevent another surge of Covid-19 infections that could
impede the country’s economic recovery.
“We have already made economic headways and we should not allow them to
be brought to naught. This is why I am urging everyone to take part in
preventing another surge that could block our way to economic recovery,” he
said.
Marcos urged his fellow Filipinos to avail of the free booster shots
being offered by the government to protect themselves against Covid-19.
He said there is a need to receive booster shots, considering that the
waning immunity stems from the effect of the highly-transmissible Omicron
coronavirus variant on the primary vaccine series.
Citing the findings of a study on over one million people in Qatar,
Marcos said those infected with an earlier version of Covid-19 and who received
three doses of an mRNA vaccine “appear to be best protected against symptomatic
infection by the Omicron variant.”
“With the Covid pandemic still ongoing, different variants may still
emerge. And as we have seen, some variants are not as resistant to the first
and second doses as others. Hence, there is a need to enhance our immunity by
getting booster shots. Kailangan ng dagdag na proteksyon (We need additional
protection),” he said.
The DOH on Thursday recorded 425 new Covid-19 infections, the highest
daily number of new cases in over two months. (PNA)
