The Negros Occidental provincial government will comply with whatever President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order is on the use of face masks, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, September 8.
“I think the IATF is on top of it… we just have to wait for the executive order from the president,” he said.
“Whatever our opinions are on this, it will be in the voluntary realm of our decision making as soon as the EO comes out,” Diaz said.
Diaz said he agrees with Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson “that wearing of face masks in public helps us a lot in preventing infection”.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has recommended the voluntary use of face masks outdoors.
But the DOH on Thursday said it is urging the public to continue wearing face masks, whether these are required or not, as it is still the best way to protect oneself against COVID-19.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said Resolution Number 1, series of 2022 of the IATF-EID is only recommendatory and has been submitted for the consideration of the president.
The IATF-EID recommendation states that the optional wearing of face masks is only for low-risk individuals, and in low risk settings.*