BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental is waiting for the executive order (EO) from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to implement the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the voluntary use of facemasks outdoors.
“As soon as the EO comes out we follow,” said provincial administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz yesterday morning.
Diaz said he agrees with the position of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson that wearing of facemasks in public helps prevent infection.
He pointed at the example in Japan wherein commuters on trains, especially during rush hours, wear facemasks.
Lacson, meanwhile, said he will appeal to senior citizens and immunocompromised persons to continue wearing facemasks.
In a Palace media briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 7, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the optional wearing of a facemask is only for low-risk individuals and in low risk settings.
IATF’s recommendation also includes the pilot study on the wearing of masks indoors in selected areas.
The task force noted that its implementation must be done in phases to ensure the population’s protection against COVID-19.
The DOH, on the other hand, said it will gradually ease the restrictions on the facemask mandate.
“We will do this in a phased approach. We cannot rush this because we want to make sure our people are protected and there are safeguards,” Vergerie said.
For his part, OCTA Research Fellow Guido David said the risk of getting infected without a facemask outdoors is very low.
“Based on science, the risk of transmission in outdoor spaces, areas not crowded is very low. But in closed areas, there is still the risk of transmission just like in wet markets,” David said./PN