MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he wants the incoming administration to retain the face mask mandate, one of the minimum public health protocols that has helped curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
"Isa sa ating ipapamana sa susunod na administrasyon, ang iyon nga, 'yung masking compliance ng Pilipino- huwag natin tanggalin ito muna. Premature eh," he said in an interview on Dobol B TV on Saturday.
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("One of the things we are turning over to the new administration, the masking compliance of Filipinos- let's not remove it. It's still premature to do so.")
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He said the country has experienced numerous superspreader events and surges caused by the entry of COVID-19 variants, but noted that infections were not as high as groups predicted because Filipinos followed minimum public health standards, such as the wearing of masks.
Duque cited a survey by Johns Hopkins University which showed that up to 96% of Filipinos complied with the masking mandate.
"Sa tingin ko, kahit na nagkaroon ng mga tinatawag na superspreader events, okay lang iyon kasi basta nakamask- 'yung itong mandate natin- malaking tulong talaga," he said.
(In my opinion, even if superspreader events took place, we were okay because we were following the mask mandate. It was a big help.")
Duque made these statements less than a month before the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from his post. President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is set to helm the highest post in the country.
A survey by OCTA Research conducted from March 5 to 10 this year showed that three in every ten Filipinos said they do not plan on wearing a face mask once the spread of COVID-19 is controlled. Some 67% respondents said they plan to continue wearing the masks by that time.
The country registered an additional 225 COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing up the total caseload to 3.69 million since the start of the pandemic. Of the total number, over 2,400 cases remain active while more than 60,400 died because of the virus.