Duque urges LGUs, establishments under Alert Level 4 to require face shields in 3Cs

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday urged local governments and establishments under Alert Level 4 to require the use of face shields in closed spaces, crowded areas, and close contact settings or 3Cs.

“Sa Alert Level 4, ang desisyon ay ibibigay sa LGU sa paggamit ng face shield tsaka sa mga pribadong mga kumpanya,” Duque said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

(Under Alert Level 4, the decision to use face shields is up to the local government units and the private companies.)

“Sasabihan na lang namin ang mga local government units at saka mga private establishment na sa 3Cs — ‘yung closed spaces, crowded areas, at saka close contact settings — ay dapat obligahin pa rin na ‘yung mga kliente nila ay mag face shield para lang may added extra layer of protection,” he added.

(We would ask them to require their clients to use face shields in the 3Cs areas for an extra layer of protection.)

On Monday evening, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that face shields would be optional in areas under Alert Levels 3, 2, and 1.

Duque previously expressed his preference for a risk-based use of face shields, where it will only be voluntary in areas under Alert Level 2 and mandatory in areas under higher alert levels.

The Philippines logged 1,547 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the number of active cases to 27,025. — VBL, GMA News