Risk or Freedom: Health Experts on Mask Mandate

MASKS. Parents are busy rushing buying school uniforms and other school supplies needed in Cebu City. ©Hernandez

As the COVID-19 pandemic eases, the urgency to prevent further infection is overshadowed by the concern for the country’s crippled economy.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles declares the optional use of face masks in well-ventilated places through Executive Order (EO) No. 3 (Magsambol, 2022). However, senior citizens, sick individuals, and unvaccinated persons are still required to wear face masks.

CROWDS AND MASKS. People busy buying their everyday needs in palengkes while still maintaining some of the COVID-19 restrictions, such as the mask mandate. ©Tapia

Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire supports the EO as she stated that the number of severe cases due to the COVID-19 virus are no longer increasing (Atienza, 2022).

While other health professionals advise against the order, Dr. Rontgene Solante from the DOH asserts that new cases of COVID-19 are still being reported everyday despite being lower than average from the past year (Lalu, 2022). Dr. Solante, including other health professionals, claims that the order may cause a lack of urgency for vaccination, which will weaken efforts and decrease the caution of Filipinos towards the virus.