The Makati City government has started distributing free cloth face masks and face shields to about 10,000 employees as part of its initiatives in response to the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Mayor Abigail Binay said each employee—regular, casual, contractual and job order personnel at city hall—would receive two cloth face masks and one face shield which they could use for added protection against COVID-19.
“Giving our employees free face masks and face shields is one way of ensuring their safety from contracting the disease and preventing its spread in the workplace. At the same time, it also promotes safer delivery of services to city residents and the general public,” she said.
Binay said the move also emphasized the importance of the two “new normal essentials” in coexisting with the virus.
“We therefore encourage our employees to always wear them for their protection and those of their co-workers too.”
The city government also reminded business establishments of the health and safety protocols enforced in the city to help the national government in its campaign to stop the spread of coronavirus disease. y.
Under City Ordinance 2020-089, residents, workers, and visitors may also use protective equipment such as face shields, ear-loop masks, cloth masks, handkerchiefs, scarfs, indigenous, reusable or do-it-yourself masks and other similar gear to protect the wearer and to prevent the spread of infection or illness.
Since the start of the pandemic, the city government has been implementing new strategies to ensure unhampered healthcare services to its employees and to over 500,000 residents.
In August, all city hall employees were provided with free flu and pneumonia shots to boost their immune system during the coronavirus pandemic.
Aside from the free flu and pneumonia vaccination, the local government has also been providing free vitamins, including Vitamin C and B-complex, to personnel who have been reporting for duty even during the enhanced community quarantine.
Last month, the city government also started the COVID-19 pooled swab testing for public utility vehicle drivers and market vendors who were prioritized by Binay because of their vulnerability and exposure to virus.
The local government converted the Makati Coliseum to a “mass testing” center where swab samples will be collected and collated from some 6,000 residents between Sept. 2 and 8.
Makati was chosen as the pilot testing site for Project Ark’s science-based, pooled swab testing method, which delivers faster COVID-19 test results for large groups of people.
Under the pooled testing method, swab samples of multiple individuals are tested at the same time.
If the result is positive, all the individuals in the pool would be tested separately.
If the swab test comes back negative, there would be no need to test everyone in the batch.