Written by Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos on November 19, 2021 at 2:55 PM

Autonomy. Passengers of public utility vehicles, like this undated photo of light rail No. 1, no longer need to wear a face mask. According to Malacañang on Friday (November 19, 2021), the additional protection against Covid-19 has been cancelled under alert levels 1 to 3, but commercial organizations and employers can decide whether they still need to use it at their discretion. (PNA photo taken by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

MANILA-Malacañang said on Friday that during the 2019 Covid-19 pandemic, businesses and employers can choose to use face masks mandatory.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday approved Resolution 149, approving the recommendations of its technical working group to allow companies and employers to use their discretion when wearing face masks.

In a virtual press conference, Acting President’s Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles stated that voluntary use of face masks “does not affect employers’ requirements for use by employees or workers and/or customers at their respective premises. Face mask".

"Kaya pwede pong i-require ng mga employer ang mga empleyado nilang mag-face shield sa kanilang workplace pwede rin pong i-require ng private organization ang mga customer nilang mag-face shield (Employers can require employees to wear face masks IATF-EID speak Nograles said: "In their workplaces and private organizations, they can require their customers to wear face masks. This is within their discretion."

On Monday, Duterte approved the IATF-EID's recommendation to abolish the mandatory use of masks under alarm levels 1 to 3.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea also issued a memorandum detailing the voluntary use of face masks in places where the Covid-19 alert level is relatively low.

According to the memorandum, people living in places with alarm levels 1 to 3 can choose to use masks on their face masks as an additional protection against Covid-19.

For areas below level 4 alarms, local government units and private institutions can decide to maintain or cancel the policy of wearing face masks at their discretion.

However, in areas under level 5 alarms and fine-grained lockdowns, the use of masks in a community environment is still mandatory.

The latest face mask policy does not affect the mandatory wearing of face masks in the "medical and quarantine facility environment" and "medical personnel in the healthcare environment".

On December 14, 2020, the IATF-EID issued Resolution No. 88, requiring everyone to wear full-coverage masks on masks in all public places to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

In June of this year, Duterte ordered the public to wear face masks only in hospitals, but later decided to retain the original policy of IATF-EID after the more easily spreading variant of the coronavirus Delta appeared.

He subsequently announced in September this year that the use of face masks would be limited to the so-called 3C, that is, closed and crowded spaces and close contacts. (PNA)

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