With Metro Manila expected to shift to general community quarantine next month, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte wants to strictly enforce the order mandating residents to wear face masks in public places to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“Dahil face mask ang isa sa pangunahing depensa laban sa COVID-19, paiigtingin natin ang kampanya upang masanay ang lahat na magsuot nito sa mga pampublikong lugar,” said Belmonte.
The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) the shift to GCQ by June 1.
“Kapag naaprubahan ang paglipat sa GCQ, dapat paigtingin ang pagpapatupad ng ating kautusan sa pagsusuot ng face mask upang mapigil ang pagkalat ng virus,” Belmonte stressed.
Belmonte issued Executive Order No. 25, Series of 2020 in April, requiring residents to wear any form of covering for the nose and mouth, including medical masks, industrial masks, earloop masks or even do-it-yourself masks, in all public places.
Belmonte cited the latest study by the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to emphasize the importance of wearing a face mask in public places to prevent the spread of the dreaded virus.
In its new study, the CDCP suggested that the transmission of COVID-19 could be cut significantly if people follow this advice.
According to researchers, universal masking flattens the curve significantly more than maintaining a strict lockdown.
“Sa pag-aaral na ito, makikitang malaki ang naitutulong ng pagsusuot ng face mask para mabawasan ang kaso ng COVID kaya dapat nating ugaliin ang paggamit nito tuwing nasa pampublikong lugar,” Belmonte pointed out.
Belmonte has tasked the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), all barangay officials, the Department of Public Order and Safety, Task Force Disiplina, the Market Development and Administration Department, and other concerned offices of the local government to enforce the order.
Unlike before where authorities were lenient to violators by giving them face masks, now residents without one while in a public place will be automatically penalized.
“Sa tagal na ng COVID-19 pandemic, dapat nakaugalian na nating magsuot ng face mask dahil ito’y para sa ating kalusugan at kaligtasan,” Belmonte said.
Photo Source: QCGov
