The Makati City government is distributing free face shields as part of its early Christmas gifts to residents this year amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Mayor Abigail Binay said the plastic face shields have been added to the Pamaskong Handog tickets being delivered by city personnel to the doorsteps of city residents since Nov. 2.
The city chief executive said aside from around 240,000 Christmas gift bags allocated for ProudMakatizens, her administration is also giving a plastic face shield to each of the recipients. These include senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), solo parents, registered jeepney and tricycle operators and drivers, and city hall and barangay hall employees.
“After providing free face masks and shields to our employees so they can safely deliver services to our constituents, we are now providing these protective items to our residents. We want them to remain healthy and safe especially this Christmas season,” Binay said.
Meanwhile, recipients of tickets will receive a Christmas gift bag containing Makatizen shirts, three cans of tuna flakes in oil, three cans of tuna flakes caldereta, three cans of corned beef, one can of luncheon meat, two cans of Vienna sausage, one pack of spaghetti sauce, one pack of pasta, one can of fruit cocktail, one can of condensed milk, one pack of cheese, and one can of all-purpose cream.
Since the start of pandemic last March, the local government has been implementing strategic policies and programs to keep its resident safe from the virus.
Through City Ordinance No. 2020-089, the city has made it mandatory for residents, workers, and visitors to wear protective gear such as face masks anywhere outside their homes to prevent the spread of the infection.
The city government also provided free flu and pneumonia vaccines to senior citizens and other residents who registered online to boost their immune system.
Aside from frontliners, suspect and probable COVID-19 cases have also been tested for free under the city’s targeted mass testing program.
Last September, some 6,000 public utility vehicle drivers and market vendors in the city underwent pooled swab testing after Makati was chosen as the pilot testing site for Project Ark’s science-based testing method. Pooled testing has been found to deliver faster test results for large groups of people. To date, the city health department is conducting pooled swab testing in various barangays.
