MANILA — The Department of Transit urged the public to continue wearing face masks inside public transportation vehicles, despite the fact that the government’s pandemic task force is considering to make mask policy optional outdoors.
“The Secretary favors maintaining the face mask protocol in all public transport because prevailing infection numbers show the virus has not been fully controlled and we should not let our guard down,” the Department of Transportation said in a statement sent to reporters.
The independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research stated that although the Covid-19 surge in Metro Manila had started slowing down, increased mobility amid the return to face-to-face classes for students led to the reproduction number and positivity rate slightly increasing over the previous week.
“It should not be a big concern if mobility will cause an uptick in cases as long as healthcare utilization remains low, and we expect it to remain low,” OCTA Research fellow Guido David said in a tweet advisory.
Earlier last week, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that public transportation might be excluded the task force’s move towards voluntary face mask wearing outdoors.
“When we talk about public transportation, we talk about a crowded place, so it’s about a crowded setting. So, when we see that, we shouldn’t include it, nevertheless, because when we look at it, it also looks like it’s indoors, especially LRT, MRT…So maybe, that will be exempted from that voluntary nature, because we expect that transport areas or those that we ride in public are always crowded,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
Vergeire also highlighted at the time that Covid-19 infections in the country are still manageable, with the incidence of severe and critical cases leveling off, and less than 30 percent of the population seeking treatment in hospitals.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista was also quoted as saying that the public must adhere to the “seven commandments,” which were developed by the previous DOTr administration and are as follows:
- Wearing masks;
- Avoiding phone calls;
- Not eating;
- Keeping public utility vehicles well ventilated;
- Conducting frequent disinfection;
- Prohibiting passengers with COVID-19 symptoms inside public transportation;
- Observing appropriate physical distancing.
