Push Admin

DOH says mask still 'required' in public transport, health facilities

Article (news)

Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Face masks are still &quot;required&quot; in public transport and medical facilities despite a government plan to ease the mask mandate, the Department of Health said on Thursday.The agency said mask-wearing would be &quot;optional&quot; indoors except in some settings.Masks are required in the following areas, it said. <ul>	<li>Healthcare facilities including but not limited to clinics, hospitals, laboratories, nursing homes, dialysis clinics</li>	<li>Medical transport</li>	<li>Public transport</li></ul>The agency made the clarification after DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the wearing of mask in public transport is &quot;highly encouraged&quot;.&quot;There was this agreement naman with the IATF that we will have a unified messaging wherein we still highly encouraged the wearing of masks especially in high-risk areas katulad ng public transport, katulad ng healthcare facilities, katulad ng mga vulnerable natin, mga nakakatanda, mga buntis,&quot; she told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Headstart&quot; Thursday. (We still highly encouraged the wearing of masks especially in high-risk areas like public transport, healthcare facilities, and for our vulnerable sector, the elderly, and pregnant women.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/25/22/ph-to-relax-rule-on-wearing-of-mask-indoors-official">Marcos Jr. to issue EO lifting mandatory wearing of face masks in indoor spaces</a></li></ul>Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco disclosed Tuesday that the government is planning to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in indoor settings.Unvaccinated individuals, persons with comorbidities and older people are still &quot;highly encouraged&quot; to wear masks, she said. The Philippines is also set to waive other health protocols for travelers, including the requirement of presenting negative RT-PCR test results upon arrival, she added.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to issue an executive order for this.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/27/22/18k-daily-covid-cases-seen-if-ph-lifts-mask-rule-doh">18K daily COVID cases seen if PH lifts mask rule indoors - DOH</a></li></ul>As the government plans to further relax pandemic protocols, Vergeire said COVID-19 cases are expected to rise. She also noted the threat of highly transmissible variants of the virus.&quot;But what we can say right now would be comparing to the previous years in this pandemic, we are better prepared. We have the tools already. We are moving forward. We need to realize that the virus is here to stay with us,&quot; she said.&quot;It&#x27;s just like the flu actually na kailangan lang mapreserba natin na &#x27;yung severe and critical ay hindi tataas and also our [hospital] admissions ay manageable,&quot; she added.(We just need to keep our severe and critical cases steady and our hospital admissions manageable.)Relaxing the mask rule, Vergeire said, could result to up to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/27/22/18k-daily-covid-cases-seen-if-ph-lifts-mask-rule-doh">18,000 daily COVID-19 cases</a> towards the end of the year.As of Wednesday, there were 21,325 active COVID-19 cases in the country.Vergeire urged the public to get their booster.&quot;Now that we are easing our restrictions, one of the major things that can protect us would be the vaccines,&quot; she said.So far, some 20.5 million people have availed of the additional jab.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2311857" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Face masks are still required in public transport and medical facilities despite a planned easing of the indoor mask mandate, the DOH said.

DOH says mask still 'required' in public transport, health facilities

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

DOH says mask still 'required' in public transport, health facilities

Davinci Maru,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 27, 2022 12:55 PM PHT

|

Updated Oct 27, 2022 07:32 PM PHT

Read More:

health

Department of Health

DOH

COVID-19

COVID19

coronavirus

face mask

mask mandate

mask rule

public transport

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.