The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Health Care (CBCP-ECHC) reminded the faithful to continue to wear a facemask to protect themselves from various types of illness.
According to Camillian Father Dan Cancino, executive secretary of the CBCP-ECHC, the facemask we wear can be a barrier but also a means of protecting one’s health from the spread of the virus and other diseases.
“Ang mask naman natin, it can be a barrier. Hindi lang naman COVID ang iiwasan mo kaya ka nagsusuot nito. Pwede itong proteksyon mula sa usok, pati sa ibang sakit tulad ng tuberculosis. So, kung makikita mo, marami rin talaga siyang benefits,” Fr. Cancino told Radio Veritas.
Fr. Cancino further told Radio Veritas that the proper dissemination of information to the people why they need to wear a facemask is also a form of discipline.
“Kaya nga ‘yung conscientization, increasing nung kamalayan na ‘yan ay napakaimportante talaga. Kasi baka isipin na magma-mask lang ako dahil baka may COVID, pero paano ‘yun kapag wala nang COVID, ibig sabihin ‘di na tayo magma-mask? Kung mababa ang iyong resistensya ay gawin mo ‘yung nararapat para sa iyong mga mahal sa buhay at para din sa ating sambayanan,” said Fr. Cancino.
The priest instructed the public to continue to follow the minimum public health standards and vaccination because there are many possibilities of contracting diseases.
Based on the latest report by the Department of Health, currently, there are 8,600 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. (Jheng Prado/RCAM-AOC)