The Taguig City government will wait for the “final ruling” of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) before easing the face shield requirement in open spaces.

Mayor Lino Cayetano said in an interview on Friday that he agrees with the proposal but the city is still bound by IATF rules.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier endorsed that face shields be required only in hospitals.

“Maganda naman ‘yung simpleng compromise na narinig ko eh. ‘Pag nasa labas, pwede mong tanggalin ‘Pag nasa loob ka, doon mo lang susuotin so hintaying natin ‘yung final na proposal (The simple compromise I heard was good, you can take it off when outside, and wear it inside so let’s wait for the final proposal),” Cayetano said.

“For now we will still follow the old rule but we are compassionate about that. We know that many of our countrymen are having a hard time wearing it for eight hours especially when they’re outside,” he added in Filipino.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said a face shield provides an “added value of protection”.

“Based on experts’ reports, our protection using masks alone, from 84 percent becomes 96 percent when we have a face shield,” he said during the inoculation of 130 employees of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Galvez believes wearing a face shield is an added safety precaution against infection.

“In my personal view, considering that there is a rising variant, it is better to have a redundant protection. Aside from wearing face mask, it is better to also have a face shield,” he said.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the proposal of wearing face shields only in indoor establishments may be considered.

“Actually, our health experts will give their recommendations about this matter and I think it won’t go away from the proposal that when there is no crowd, like in open spaces, wearing of face shield can only be encouraged. It must be mandatory once you are indoors, especially if you are with someone inside the establishment,” he opined.

The IATF-EID in December last year decided to make it mandatory to wear both mask and full face shield in all public spaces to prevent a spike in Covid-19 cases. (PNA)