The Department of Health (DOH) said there is no need for the public to wear a ‘double’ face mask despite the detection of the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 (United Kingdom variant) in the country.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Satuday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the efficacy of wearing ‘double’ face mask or two face masks at the same time has not yet been proven.

“Makikita ho natin, ito pong paggamit natin ng (As we can see, the use of) facemask which provides us about 60 to 70 percent protection, plus the face shield and physical distance will provide us about 99 percent protection,” Vergeire said.

She added that the protocol that requires wearing face masks with face shields has been so far effective, adding that the country can better address the pandemic if everyone complies with health standards.

Vergeire said the DOH and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) are still implementing the same protocols.

A year after the first Covid-19 case was detected in the country, Vergeire said DOH priority is still on keeping the cases down as well as the number of people dying from the disease.

With the possibility of the Covid-19 vaccines arriving in the country very soon, she said the DOH has high hopes that this will further help in managing the Covid-19 situation alongside the safety protocols.

Vergeire assured the public that the national government, with the invaluable help from the local government units, the country will be able to procure a sufficient number of Covid-19 vaccine doses for everyone.

She said the acquisition of the Covid-19 vaccine is not a rat race.

She added that the national government recognizes that this is an immediate need in the fight against Covid-19 but they are only making sure that the vaccine the country will acquire and administer to the people is safe and efficacious.

“Tayo po naman ay mag-uumpisa na rin soon ‘no, so kailangan lang po talaga ang pakikipagtulungan ng lahat ng ating mga kababayan dito sa gagawin nating bakunahan para sa kanila (We will also start this soon, we just need everyone’s cooperation and help with the vaccination rollout),” she said.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said they have yet to receive the genome sequencing test results of the UK variant cases in Bontoc, Mt. Province.

She added that they would immediately release the results to the public once it becomes available. (PNA)