Face masks off? Galvez says ‘most likely’ in fourth quarter of the year

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the mandatory use of face masks would  “most likely” be dropped by the fourth quarter of the year.

“Kung we are very safe already to remove our mask doon natin gagawin yon. Maybe after the transition of the new government, most likely baka siguro fourth quarter,” Galvez said in Jun Veneracion’s “24 Oras” report on Tuesday.

(If we are very safe already to remove our mask, we will do that. Maybe after the transition of the new government, most likely maybe in the fourth quarter.)

Galvez, who is also the National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer, recommended double masking given that supporters would be crowding during the campaign period.

“Sa ngayon definitely ang aking recommendation, double masking tayo because election period napaka ano ng mga crowding,” he said.

(For now, definitely, my recommendation would be to double mask because the election period would see crowding.)

As the COVID-19 infections continue to decrease, government officials are studying the possibility of downgrading the alert level in the National Capital Region (NCR) to Alert Level 1.

“Pagkagumanda pa lalo ang ating mga datos at maibaba natin sa Alert Level 1, bakit naman hindi? Gagawin natin ‘yan sa lalong madaling panahon,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

(If the data continues to improve, we can lower it to Alert Level 1. Why not? We will do that as soon as possible.)

Under Alert Level 1, except for those located in areas under granular lockdowns, all establishments, persons, or activities, are allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at full on-site or venue/seating capacity provided minimum health standards were followed.

The Philippines on Tuesday logged the lowest daily COVID-19 tally this year with 2,010 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the nationwide cases to 3,641,940. — DVM, GMA News