JTF COVID Shield backs Christmas caroling ban proposal

The Joint Task Force COVID Shield supported proposals to ban caroling during the 2020 Christmas season due to the danger of COVID-19 infections among children.

In a Sunday statement, JTF COVID Shield commander Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said they were waiting for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on the proposals.

“Caroling has always been part of the Filipino tradition, I believe each and every one of us has his or her funny and meaningful stories of caroling especially when we were children,” said Eleazar.

“But the situation is currently different. We are facing a serious threat [from COVID-19] and we in the JTF COVID Shield believe that it is in the health interest of everybody if we could just stay home and enjoy the Yuletide season with our family.”

Secretary of the Interior and Local Government and National Task Force on COVID-19 Vice Chairman Eduardo Año also supported the caroling ban.

“Based on studies and statistics, the spread of COVID-19 is more likely to occur in mass singing like choir and caroling because singers have to remove their masks as they sing and viruses are released through aerosols,” chimed Año.

Meanwhile, Eleazar, in coordination with Philippine National Police chief General Camilo Cascolan, instructed police commanders to work with their respective local governments over the possible caroling ban. — DVM, GMA News