“So far, there is no plan to drop the mandatory use of face mask,” Año told INQUIRER.net in a text message. This was seconded by vaccine czar and National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr., saying that wearing of face masks is still “very essential” in the fight against the severe respiratory disease. “It is not in our discussion since masking is very essential until we finally declare that Covid 19 is totally eliminated. It would be the last thing that we will remove,” he told INQUIRER.net in a separate text message. The DOH said that Alert Level 1 is the “new normal in the country.”

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 17, 2022 06:08 UTC