MANILA — The Quirino local government is studying a possible partial lifting of the mandatory use of anti-COVID masks in preparation for the new normal, the province's governor said on Tuesday.

This comes after the Cebu provincial government made face masks optional in well-ventilated and open spaces, a move opposed by the interior and health departments.

"Dito sa new normal, magandang paghandaan, maaga man o hindi, ang mga pangyayari... Nakikita kasi namin na baka dapat na nating pag-usapan o pag-aralan, at sinimulan na naming pag-aralan sa aming probinsya, ang pag-aaral nitong pinapanukala nga o pinapatupad sa Cebu na optional wearing of face mask," Governor Dakila Cua said in a televised briefing.

(In the new normal, it's good to prepare for events. We see that maybe we should talk about or study, and we have started studying in our province, the optional wearing of face masks implemented in Cebu.)

"Perhaps there should be dimension or depth to this policy, at least doon sa outdoors kasi darating at darating ang panahon, nakikita po natin na ang pandemya ay huhupa at magiging isang lokal na matter na lang," he added.

(Perhaps there should be dimension or depth to this policy, at least outdoors, because there would come a time that the pandemic will subside and become a local matter.)

Local authorities "understand" the risk that comes with the slight uptick in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, Cua said.

He added that any policy shift on masks would "depend on our experts."

"Baka naman tama ang data na magkaroon ng adjustments sa mga outdoors na maluwag naman at hindi kumpol kumpol ang tao, pwede nating buksan nang walang face mask if the risk is manageable or very, very low," he said.

(Perhaps the data would justify adjustments outdoors, when there is no crowding, and we can remove face masks if the risk is manageable or very, very low.)

"Pinag-aaralan pa lang natin, and I think ‘yung pag-aaral naman hindi 'yan dapat ihinto whether nag-a-upsurge tayo or nagda-downsurge," said the governor.

(We are still studying it, and I think the study should not stop whether our cases are on an upsurge or going down.)

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Quirino has no active COVID-19 case as of Tuesday, Cua said. The province is currently under Alert Level 1, the loosest of the country's 5-tier COVID-19 alert system.

• Palace updates areas under Alert Level 1, Alert Level 2 until mid-June

Cua chairs the League of Provinces of the Philippines. He said he would consult its members on the mask rule during a meeting on Friday.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said it would not recognize Cebu's lifting of the mask mandate and warned that health protocol violators could be apprehended.

• DILG says it 'does not recognize' Cebu order lifting face mask rule outdoors

The Philippines reported 1,682 new COVID-19 cases from June 6 to 12, higher by 30 percent than infections in the previous week, according to the health department.

This is the highest number of cases logged in a single week since April 4 to 10, when the DOH tallied 1,871 cases, according to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

• DOH identifies all close contacts of PH's omicron subvariant cases