MANILA – Metro Manila won’t make face masks mandatory again amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, the head of the Metro Manila Council said Wednesday.

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San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Metro Manila remains in the low-risk category for COVID, with hospital utilization rate at 29 percent.

“So that is within the low risk category. At ang positivity rate po natin ay 25 percent…ngunit karamihan po talaga ay mild lamang (our positivity rate is 25 percent, most of the cases are mild),” he said.

“Yes, nakikita natin ang ibang mga lungsod ay nagkakaroon ng mask mandate sa kanilang mga lugar but overall in Metro Manila, in coordination with the (Department of Health), ay tayo po ay nasa low risk category at Alert Level 1, at ang pagsusuot po ng face mask ay optional pa rin sa ilalim ng Alert Level 1 na ito.

(Yes, some cities are reimposing mask mandates, but overall in Metro Manila, together with the DOH, we are under the low risk category at Alert Level 1, and under that category face masks are optional.)

Zamora said the mayors did not discuss imposing mask mandates yet in their last meeting.

“Pero tandaan po natin, ang mga (Let us remember that) local government units po ay may autonomy. Ibig sabihin, on their own, they can prescribe, through ordinances or executive orders, the use of face masks,” he noted.

• Some PH cities reimpose use of face masks amid increase in COVID-19 cases

“So we will monitor the situation, and umaasa naman po tayo na hindi na nga po tumaas ang bilang ng mga kaso (we are hoping that cases won’t rise),” he said.

The mayor attributed the low positivity and hospitalization rates to the high vaccination rate in the metro.

“Yun nga po ang magandang epekto ng pagbabakuna (That is the positive effect of the vaccination). Overall in Metro Manila ay 127 percent na po ng target population ang bakunado,” he said.

Zamora continued to encourage the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Kung tayo ay hindi pa nga bakunado, hindi pa nagfi-first booster o hindi pa nagse-second booster, eh dapat kunin na po natin ito ngayon.”

(If we haven't been vaccinated or gotten the first or second boosters, we should get them now.)

--TeleRadyo, 17 May 2023