Tuguegarao City, Cagayan – The Department of Education, and the Department of Health are currently in talks to ease the wearing of face masks in schools, following the recent proclamation of Malacañang to make the policy optional outdoors.
DepEd recently told reporters that majority of learners’ time in schools are in closed spaces where the policy stays, however, the agency said that under the newly issued proclamation, it will discuss lifting the policy with the DOH for situations when students ‘are in open spaces.’
Recently, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has signed Executive Order No. 3, making the wearing of face masks ‘voluntary’ in outdoor areas.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 hound Octa Research Group said in a presser that the face mask policy for students must also be scrapped as some research suggests that long-term face mask use may harm the social skills and development of kids.
However, the health department has said otherwise and maintained the face mask mandate for safety as there had been reports of teachers and learners testing positive for COVID-19.
The reported positive cases among students and educators came in only three weeks into the resumption of in-person classes but the DepEd has not made specific details available to the press. TNF