- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The voluntary wearing of face masks in open spaces and even in crowded outdoor areas but with good ventilation is now allowed in Bacolod City.
But face masks shall continue to be worn in indoor private or public establishments, including in public transportation by land, air, or sea, and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained, Mayor Alfredo Benitez stressed in Executive Order No. 33 issued Tuesday, Sept. 13.
The wearing of face masks inside Bacolod hospitals and other medical facilities, laboratories, quarantine facilities and the like, shall also be mandatory, the EO said. “Individuals not fully vaccinated, senior citizens, and those immunocompromised are highly encouraged to wear their masks, and to observe physical distancing at all times.”
Benitez also urged the continued observance of minimum public health standards (MPHS) to prevent or minimize the spread of COVID-19.
The Department of Health in Western Visayas said that Bacolod has 108 active cases, as of Sept. 13.
The city EO echoed the order issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Sept. 12, allowing for the voluntary wearing of facemasks in outdoor settings and reiterating the continued implementation of MPHS.
The relaxed mask mandate aims to further reopen the economy through the safe resumption of economic and social activities, the EO states, noting that 88 of the country’s 121 provinces, highly-urbanized cities, including Bacolod, and independent cities, as well as 696 component cities and towns are under Alert Level 1.
The wearing of facemask outdoors is also optional in Negros Occidental, which remains on Alert Level 2 except for the cities of Sagay, Victorias, La Carlota, Cadiz, and Talisay, and the towns of EB Magalona, Pulupadan, San Enrique, Candoni, Pontevedra, Valladolid, and Ilog that have been deescalated to AL1.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, in EO 22-45, however, said that all persons are required to use facemasks in indoor spaces, as well as in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The province logged 19 new coronavirus infections and four deaths Tuesday, with 184 active cases./CGC
