City of Manila distributes face masks to students for free

The city of Manila on Friday began distributing face masks to students in the elementary and high school levels, for free.

GMA News' "Unang Balita" reported that students at the Doña Teodora Alonzo High School in Sta. Cruz, Manila get their face mask as they enter the school gate.

According to the report, the school is near the San Lazaro Hospital, one of the state-run hospitals capable of admitting patients suspected of contracting the dreaded novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that originated from Wuhan City in China's Hubei province.  

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno ordered the distribution of free face masks to students in the elementary and high school levels hours after the Department of Health announced the first 2019-nCoV infection in the Philippines.

Also, the report said the city government has distributed a stock of face masks to each of its 896 barangays.

A separate report on Unang Blalita said that face mask supply in some pharmacies and stores have run out early Friday morning, with some students scrambling over limitted stocks. —LBG, GMA News