The Pasay City government has started implementing a “no face shield, no ride” policy for commuters to further prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease in the city.
"The wearing of face shields in public transportation will now be part of the minimum health protocols against the virus, including the wearing of face masks, observing physical distancing, and regular washing of hands. I am calling on all Pasayeños as well as those visiting the city to cooperate with this measure. This is for the good of all,” said Mayor Imelda Rubiano.
She said the mandatory wearing of face shields for residents while riding public transportation follows the memorandum from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
The order states that all officials or heads of various transportation sectors must “enjoin within their respective jurisdiction the mandatory wearing of face shields aside from face masks for all passengers in areas where public transportation is allowed.
Rubiano also tapped city’s Tricycle and Pedicab Franchising and Regulatory Office (TPFRO) to issue a memorandum to all tricycle drivers and operators in Pasay City about the new policy.
She said they are applying the policy on tricycles because these are the only forms of public transportation allowed by the city government to operate after Mega Manila was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 4 to 18.
About 4,000 tricycles were allowed to operate in the city, on a schedule based on a color-coding scheme to give everyone equal opportunity to work.
Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) officials said the wearing of a face shield further reduces virus transmission in low ventilation settings.
Mayor Rubiano earlier ordered all city government and police officials to intensify the city's campaign against COVID-19.
She also instructed barangay officials and health center personnel to tag or identify COVID-19 recovered patients to ensure all recovered patient have actually completed the required 14-day isolation and have not experienced symptoms of the disease in the last three days prior to their discharge from isolation or quarantine.
Rubiano said the guidelines set by the government are based on experts’ studies and likewise comply with the instructions from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We thus enjoin our barangay officials to really see to it that patients undergo the mandatory 14-day isolation and that they have no symptoms before they can be discharged in accordance with this DOH guidelines,” she said.
City Health Office chief Dr. Cesar Encinares said the officials of a barangay with jurisdiction over the patient should make a certification that this patient has completed the required 14-day quarantine and that he/she has not experienced COVID-19 symptoms in the last three days.
A health center doctor may attest to this barangay certification if the said patient requests for such attestation especially for the purpose of travel, he said.