BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong is calling on the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the city council to look into allowing the city to only require the use of face shields in select COVID-19 critical areas such as healthcare facilities.
Magalong has written to both the IATF and the city council through Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan, seeking a relaxation of the city’s rules requiring the use of face shields among the general populace.
Magalong cited the city’s recently-reached 71 percent full vaccination rate among its eligible populace as a factor lowering the risk of transmission among the city’s residents.
He also cited the city’s steady COVID-19 incidence downtrend compared to the previous months as another mitigating factor that would make it safe for the city to forego the use of face shields.
“As some restrictions are gradually eased in consonance with increasing numbers of vaccinated individuals, this move may be a welcome change for our citizens after nearly two years of dealing with this pandemic,” he said.
Under the existing Ordinance No. 49 series of 2021, an amendment to the previous Ordinance No. 45-2020 or the Face Mask Ordinance of Baguio City, it is unlawful for people within Baguio to be in public without wearing a face shield, and similar businesses are not allowed to transact with individuals not wearing face shields.
