Use of Face Mask Outdoors Now Optional

The use of face masks in outdoor environments is now entirely up to the individual, as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed an executive order on September 12 that makes the use of face masks outdoors optional.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed the latest development in the use of face masks in a press briefing, saying that Executive Order (EO) No. 3 has already been published in the Official Gazette and “shall take effect immediately.”

This comes as the Inter-Agency Task Force on September 7, recommended the voluntary usage of face masks outdoors.

However, the EO said that individuals who are “not fully-vaccinated individuals, senior citizens, and immunocompromised individuals are highly encouraged to wear their masks, and physical distancing will be observed at all times.”

Moreover, face masks will still be mandatory in indoor environments “including in public transportation by land, air, or sea, and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.”

According to Cruz-Angeles, Marcos was in favor of the recommendation as the country is now mere percentages away from “the wall of immunity.”

“He had imposed the condition and one of them is the establishment of the wall of immunity, since we are 6% away from that, then it’s time,” Cruz-Angeles said.

According to the EO, 93 percent of the target population in the Philippines, or 72 million individuals, are already fully vaccinated while 18 million individuals, or 23 percent of the target population, have received COVID-19 booster doses as of September 6, 2022.

The EO also cited that neighboring Southeast Asian countries have already liberalized their mask mandates without seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases as one of the reasons for allowing the voluntary use of face masks outdoors.

The EO directed the Department of Health (DOH) to update the minimum public health standards guidelines with the issuance of the order. (GFB)