According to Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for administration of the CCPO, said they will need to read the contents of EO 3 so they will know what to implement.
However, Parillo urged the public to continue wearing face masks, especially in enclosed spaces and public utility vehicles.
He said they have not apprehended violators of the mask mandate since the City Government eased restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic several months ago.
“We will just follow the IATF’s orders. Again, I would like to remind the public to wear face masks as a protective measure,” he said in Cebuano.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced on Monday, September 12, 2022, that the President already signed the EO, after he “verbally” approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to make mask-wearing outdoors optional last week.
She highly encouraged not fully vaccinated individuals, senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals to wear masks and practice social distancing at all times.
Meanwhile, the press secretary said the public should continue to wear face masks when “indoors, private or public establishments, including in public transportation by land, air or sea and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.”
Cebu City gave its residents the choice to wear face masks in open spaces, except for those inside hospitals and those with flu-like symptoms, starting September 1, after Mayor Michael Rama signed EO 5 on August 31.
On June 8, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued EO 16 that allowed the optional wearing of face masks in comfortable and open spaces in the province. (AYB/PJB)