MANILA (UCAN): The Holy Spirit Family Crusade and the Knights of Saint Paul Altar Servers in Manila said health authorities must reconsider its new advisory considering the crowds attending Sunday Masses and other religious services in Philippine churches.
“Although the directive says wearing of masks become optional in outdoor places, there could still be the transmission of the Covid-19 virus considering that many have still yet to receive their vaccines,” family crusade executive secretary, Angela Gomez, said
Gomez said that many of their members were afraid to join religious services in and outside the church because of fear of infection.
“Indoor or outdoor, our position has always been to wear masks for the benefit of both the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Let us not forget that many of our countrymen, even our members, are still not vaccinated yet have been going to church and attending services because of religious duty,” Gomez added.
On September 7, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases [IATF] of the Health Department announced that the mandatory wearing of masks in outdoor areas would be lifted. presidential spokesperson, Trixie Alcala, said that an order would soon be issued by the president, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., to validate the decision.
“According to the IATF, their recommendation is to liberalise our mask mandate and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country. It becomes optional in open spaces or noncrowded outdoor areas with good ventilation,” Alcala told reporters.
Although the directive says wearing of masks become optional in outdoor places, there could still be the transmission of the Covid-19 virus considering that many have still yet to receive their vaccines
Angela Gomez
However, Health Department undersecretary, Maria Rosario Vergeire, said on September 5 there was no reason to relax the health protocols because the virus is still around.
“We urge everyone to take extra precautions. Social distancing is still a must in public places and as much as possible we discourage social gatherings. Avoid super spreader events like concerts or conventions,” Vergeire said in her weekly health report.
The Health Department reported on Sept. 5 that the country had 1,200 Covid-19 patients in critical condition and another 1,600 were receiving treatment in intensive care units. About
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Over 1,200 Covid-19 patients are in critical condition while other 1,600 are under intensive care units, according to a Department of Health report on Sept. 5.
About 74.4 million Filipinos or 66.1 per cent of a population of 112 million have been vaccinated, while about 38.30 million remain unvaccinated.
Manila’s Knights of St. Paul Altar Servers pointed out that wearing masks was “a matter of courtesy” to the unvaccinated and must be maintained “all the time.”
The group noted the those unvaccinated in the country remained so of their own choice and that those who were vaccinated had the duty to keep them safe.
“We had members who were below 18 and they were not vaccinated because it was the choice of their parents. Not wearing masks would expose them to the virus,” the group’s national president, Franklin Ibanez, said, adding that allowing the public not to wear masks would send a message that they could relax the rules.
“If we relax the rules on wearing face masks now, people will become so used to it that they won’t remember to get booster shots when the time comes since they’ll assume we’ve returned to normal, and the epidemic is finished. We need to avoid this for now,” Ibanez added.
The Philippines has recorded over 3.9 million infections and more than 62,000 deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Our World in Data.
