The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said that mandatory face mask policy in public transportation and other settings shall be considered “rescinded” or officially lifted.
This comes after President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. issued a proclamation formally ending the state of public health emergency due to COVID-19 in the country.
“Consequently, the requirement for wearing masks in public transportation and other settings as specified in EO [Executive Order] 7 is now considered rescinded from a technical standpoint,” DOH Secretary Teodo ‘Ted’ Herbosa said in a press statement.
Other settings include healthcare facilities and medical transport vehicles.
— Department of Health Philippines (@DOHgovph) July 22, 2023
He said all imposed COVID-19 health protocols are likewise lifted, except the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines.
The EUA, according to Herbosa, shall be in effect for one year to allow the exhaustion of remaining COVID-19 vaccines supplies.
On Saturday, Malacañgan released Proclamation Order 297 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin for the President.
“Although COVID-19 remains to be a serious concern for certain subpopulations and requires continued public health response, the country has maintained sufficient health care system capacity and low hospital bed utilization rates even after the liberalization of Covid-19 health protocols,” Marcos said in the order.
He mandated all government agencies to ensure that “their policies, rules, and regulations will take into consideration the lifting of the state of public health emergency and to amend existing or promulgate issuance, as may be appropriate.”
