Nograles: Wearing of face shield still required

Wearing face shield on top of face mask is still required as the country continues its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.

Nograles made the remark in response to Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega's statement on Wednesday that face shield need not be worn on top of face mask when outdoors. 

"We will run this through the IATF meeting later," Nograles said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

IATF is the Inter-Agency Task Force which serves as the government's policy-making body in COVID-19 response efforts.

"Face shields are still required," he pointed out.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed that face shields should only be used in hospitals.

"Last night, the President agreed that face shields should only be used in hospitals. Allowed us to remove ours! Attn DOH!" said Sotto on Twitter.

Malacañang has yet to confirm Sotto's statement.

Earlier, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who also serves as spokesperson for the IATF, maintained that wearing face shield on top of a face mask increases protection against COVID-19.

Undersecretary Vega's statement had also prompted Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire to cite Joint Memorandum Circular 2021-0001, saying that the memo "only states that face shields are required to be worn in enclosed public spaces, schools, workplaces, commercial establishments, public transport and terminals, and places of worship."

However, the same memo provides that face shields must be worn in “other public spaces wherein 1 meter physical distancing is not possible and there is gathering of more than 10 people at the same venue at the same time.” —LBG/KBK, GMA News