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Don’t ignore experts’ say on face shield use: Palace

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

June 24, 2021, 4:04 pm

<p><em>(File photo)</em></p>

(File photo)

MANILA – The government needs to listen to and believe in the experts’ findings that the use of face shields is effective in preventing the further transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“Kinakailangan po, paniwalaan natin ang sinasabi ng siyensiya (We have to believe in what science is saying),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online press conference.

Roque issued the statement, after the Senate sought an inquiry into the effectiveness of face shields in protecting people against Covid-19.

He maintained that Duterte’s latest directive to mandate the wearing of face masks indoors and outdoors is based on science.

“Iyan po ang sinasabi ng siyensiya. Iyan po ang sinasabi ng mga dalubhasa. Napakahirap naman pong balewalain ang sinasabi ng mga nangungunang mga dalubhasa sa larangan po ng medisina at epidemiology (That’s what the science and experts have said. It is difficult to ignore the findings of the experts in the fields of medicine and epidemiology),” he said.

Senate Resolution 757, authored by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, directs the Senate Committee of the Whole to investigate, in aid of legislation, the efficacy of wearing face shields in public spaces.

The resolution was filed following dismay over the government’s flip-flopping on the policy on the use of face shields.

Duterte initially decided to relax the government’s face shield requirement by allowing its use only in hospitals.

Roque, however, announced on Monday that Duterte has decided to keep the original policy on the mandatory use of face shields in public places in view of more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.

While he acknowledged the inconvenience of wearing face shields, Roque insisted that there is a scientific basis to mandate its use.

“Nakabase po sa siyensiya iyan bagama’t napaka-inconvenient na magsuot pa ng face shield in addition to face mask. (While it is inconvenient to use face shield in addition to face mask, it is based on science),” he said.

Roque also cited the findings of The Lancet, a world leading medical journal, that the use of face masks helps control the Covid-19 transmission.

The Lancet’s study, Roque said, found that wearing face mask can decrease the risk of catching Covid-19 by 78 percent.

The risk can also decrease by 85 percent, if face shield is worn in addition to face shield, Roque added.

Roque also cited a study in the country which showed that a person is protected against Covid-19 by 97 person, if they use face shield and face mask and observe social distancing.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), in its Resolution 88 issued on December 14 last year, requires all persons to wear full-coverage face shields on top of face masks every time they go outside in a bid to lessen the transmission of Covid-19. (PNA)

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