OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David on Tuesday emphasized the need to strictly observe wearing of face masks, especially among unvaccinated children, given the significant increase in COVID-19 infections in other countries.
The national government recently eased protocols in the National Capital Region allowing minors, even those not inoculated yet against COVID-19, to go out.
During a briefing of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, David said the OCTA Research has been looking at the “significantly high infection rate” in the United Kingdom among school-aged children.
“It’s about 15 times higher than adults and I think this is something that we have to bring to the table. And for this, 10 to 14-years-old and earlier, it was mentioned there’s a concern about children unvaccinated getting infected,” David told lawmakers.
“And I think this is a part of and related to what [presidential adviser] Joey Concepcion mentioned about us being more concerned about unvaccinated people and that will also include children in the discussion,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte already directed local government units to craft an ordinance that would restrict minors aged below 12 years old from going to malls.
Previous reports have shown children in malls and in parks without face masks.
A recent report also stated that a two-year-old child had tested positive for COVID-19 after his parents brought him to the mall. Due to this incident, a technical working group (TWG) composed of Metro Manila health officials is set to meet to tackle the age restrictions for minors in malls.
Further, the concern of minors getting infected with COVID-19 was also raised amid the pilot testing of the face-to-face classes in several areas of the country on Monday, November 15.
According to David, the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in the UK could be attributed to the non-wearing of face masks of residents. He stressed that wearing of face masks should strictly be observed in the country to avoid rise in COVID-19 cases.
“Part of the recent cases increase in the UK was they’re no longer following the mask mandate so this is definitely something we have to, I mean we’re keeping the mask mandate and the minimum public health standards,” David said.
“It may be difficult to monitor the mask mandate for children so this is something of a concern because we’re having limited face-to-face classes. This will be the responsibility of teachers who are in charge of the classes. ‘Yun lang ‘yun (that’s it),” he added.
The Philippine Medical Association meanwhile on Monday called on parents and guardians not to bring children aged 11 years old and below inside malls amid the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of alert level, saying the kids in this age range have not been vaccinated yet against COVID-19. —KG, GMA News
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