THE DEPARTMENT of Health said that it is up to the Department of Education to decide on the voluntary use of face masks inside school premises.

“The DoH defers policy decisions to the DepEd with regard to the well-being and safety of its students,” it said.

“Should they pursue this, the optional use of face masks in schools is aligned with the Office of the President’s Executive Order Nos. 3 and 7, which allows the optional use of face masks both indoors and outdoors for certain health settings,” it added.

The health department admitted that the use of face masks is an additional protection from Covid19.

The DepEd earlier said it will follow Malacañang’s directive on the voluntary use of face masks indoors and outdoors.

Public schools started implementing full face-to-face classes on November 2.