President Duterte on Monday apologized to the nation for the confusing policy statements on the use of face shields as protection against Covid-19. “I will apologize to the Filipino people, that this thing is being discussed openly and many thought that we were ready to do away with face shields,” Duterte said in his weekly public address. “But with the kind of aggressive infection that poses a very grave danger…. It’s a small inconvenience actually. I know that it is inconvenient to be wearing the mask. But that is only a small price to pay than gamble on doing away with it and courting disaster.”
On June 17 the President decided to ease the face shield requirement by allowing its use only in hospitals. But he clarified on Monday that he decided to retain the use of face shields, aside from face masks, to protect people from the threat posed by the contagious Delta variant that ravaged India.
Duterte told the nation the government cannot afford a second wave of Covid-19 infections. “We cannot afford it. The first wave depleted the resources of government. Another one would be disastrous for this country. That is why the stricter you are, the better,” he said.
The President said he realized that he and the senators may have erred in discussing the policy in public. “When I mentioned about the face shield, I was only shooting the breeze with members of Congress. I never said with finality that we will do away with the face shield,” he said.
Are face shields necessary? Will a face shield protect you from Covid?
A 2014 study showed that when tested against an influenza-infused aerosol from a distance of 18 inches away, a face shield reduced exposure by 96 percent during the period immediately after a cough. The face shield also reduced the surface contamination of a respirator by 97 percent. “Because they extend down from the forehead, face shields protect the eyes as well as the nose and mouth,” says pediatric infectious disease specialistFrank Esper, MD. The coverage that face shields offer is ideal since the new coronavirus can enter the body through those points.
From Bloomberg: “About 1 million people in Sydney will be barred from leaving the city, as Australia races to control an outbreak of the Delta variant that’s having ramifications as far afield as New Zealand. The surge in cases has created “a very real and present danger,” state Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters. “This is a very serious situation.” The stricter measures come as 13 new cases were recorded in less than a day in Australia’s most-populous city, bringing the cluster to at least 30 infections.”
From the Associated Press: “The US government is stepping up efforts to get younger Americans vaccinated for Covid-19 as the White House acknowledges it will miss two key vaccination benchmarks and as concern grows about the spread of a new variant that threatens to set the country back in the months ahead. The Delta variant, first identified in India, in the last two weeks has come to represent more than 20 percent of coronavirus infections in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. That’s double what it was when the CDC last reported on the variant’s prevalence.”
A recent Social Weather Stations survey said large majorities of Filipinos follow Covid-19 protocols, including the wearing of face masks and face shield, frequent hand washing, and practicing physical distancing. However, there are some people opposed to wearing face mask and face shield as if the pandemic is gone. We must remember that peoplewithout symptoms can spreadthe virus. As the President said, wearing our mask and face shield is a small inconvenience. We must do our part to fight Covid. Health experts say that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.