A health expert warned of a possible increase in COVID-19 cases if the policy on wearing face masks becomes voluntary in indoor areas.

Dr. Rontgene Solante said he was not surprised with the government’s plan to ease the mask policy indoors as the country’s economy slowly reopens.

He said he slightly doubted this, especially since the country has already detected the Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant.

“At the other end, talagang may agam-agam pa rin tayo diyan, especially for now na nandito iyong XBB and XBC and when you make face mask optional indoor. Then, mayroon talagang risk iyan,” Solante said in a public briefing.

“There is always risk sa indoor ‘no, especially sa mga mataong lugar at iyong mga walang bakuna, medyo apektado dito. Tataas ang mga kaso, tataas din ang mga risk ng infection especially sa mga vulnerable population,” he added.

On the other hand, Solante said this policy also has its advantage, particularly in empowering people by giving them a choice to decide whether to wear their face mask or not based on their risk assessment.