Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso of Manila City urges the national government to stop requiring everyone to wear face shields outside of their homes amid the ongoing pandemic, as per GMA News Online.
In a statement, Moreno said, “Tayo na lang yata sa buong mundo ang nagre-require ng face shield sa kalsada. Dapat pag-isipan ulit ito. Marami na tayong natutuhan. We should adjust (We are the only country in the world which still requires wearing a face shield outside. We should rethink this. We have learned a lot. We should adjust.),” Moreno then said the wearing of face shields should be required in hospitals only.
Late last year, the national government mandated the nation to wear face masks and face shields whenever they go out of their residences. Previously, the government only required the wearing of face shields inside establishments.
For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) said that bikers and other active commuters were not required to wear face shields amid “increasing reports” of arrests. The DOH said several memorandums had made clear that people engaged in “strenuous activities/work, fine workmanship, operation of transportation vehicles, and active transport are exempted from wearing face shields” since these could cause “possible vision impairment.”
To put things into perspective, according to Daniel McQuillen, vice president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and an infectious disease physician at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston, face shields block droplets, which are larger particles that drop to the floor due to gravity, but not aerosols. “If someone coughs and it catches your eyes, you are going to get the infection,” he told the Wall Street Journal.Â
The Ministry for Health of France also said plastic visors or face shields do not fit the specifications for obligatory mask wearing. “These objects cannot, in any case, be considered as protective equipment for the person wearing them, or for the people they come into contact with,” they said in a statement.Â
On top of these arguments, plastic face shields also contribute to the pollution problem in the country. Isn’t it time we get rid of them already?
