What's Happening?

COVID-19 cases are rising, but DOH isn’t keen on reimposing mask mandate

by Carl Santos

PUBLISHED ON April 18, 2023

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, April 18, said it was not considering the reimposition of a strict mask mandate after the Philippines experienced an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the past week.

The country recorded 2,386 new COVID-19 cases from April 10 to 16, up 18.5% from the past week, according to the DOH.

A total of 1,944 cases were reported from April 3 to 9.

The average daily number of new cases stood at 341, up from 278 the previous week.

“Tumataas pero hindi naman nagsa-spike nang ganoon kataas tulad ng experience natin in the past years,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a press briefing.

“Hindi po tayo ngayon nagko-consider na ibalik ang masking mandate. Ang sa atin lang, galing sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan, we encourage everybody [to wear face masks],” she added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order last October making mask-wearing voluntary except on public transport, healthcare facilities, and medical transport vehicles.

However, a Social Weather Stations poll in December found that one in two Filipinos still prefer to wear face masks while they are outside of their homes, even after the government relaxed COVID-19 regulations.

Meanwhile, the DOH asked the public to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously and follow the health protocols to prevent catching the disease.

“Pinapaalalalahan ang lahat na huwag maging kampante sa banta ng COVID-19. Bagkus, dapat natin ipagpatuloy ang tamang pagsunod sa minimum public health standards sa ilalim ng Alert Level 1,” it said.

“Paalala ng Kagawaran ng Kalusugan na laging magsuot ng best-fitted face mask at kung maaari, manatili sa well-ventilated na mga lugar. Sa oras na makaramdam ng sintomas, agad na mag-isolate.”

It also urges people to get vaccinated and receive booster shots.