JOINT Task Force COVID Shield commander, Lieutenant General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar yesterday expressed support for proposals to ban Christmas caroling citing the danger of coronavirus infection especially for children who may be encouraged to go out if a Local Government Unit would allow the Christmas practice to go on amid the pandemic.
The official said they would wait for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) regarding the ban on caroling before fully implementing it.
“Caroling has always been part of the Filipino tradition, I believe each and every one of us has his or her funny and meaningful stories of caroling especially when we were children. This is what makes the Christmas of every Filipino a memorable and exciting one,” said Eleazar.
“But the situation is currently different. We are facing a serious threat of coronavirus disease and we in the JTF COVID Shield believe that it is in the health interest of everybody if we could just stay home and enjoy the Yuletide season with our family,” he added.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año, the Vice- Chairman of the National Task Force on COVID-19, also supports the caroling ban.
“Based on studies and statistics, the spread of COVID-19 is more likely to occur in mass singing like choir and caroling because singers have to remove their masks as they sing and viruses are released through aerosols,” said the DILG chief as he aired his decision to recommend the full ban.
General Eleazar also instructed police commanders to coordinate with their respective LGUs with regard to caroling.
If the caroling ban is approved, Lt. Gen. Eleazar encouraged the parents to explain to their children why there is a need to skip the traditional caroling at least for this year.
Children are considered the most affected by the community quarantine rules since they can no longer do what they used to enjoy before the pandemic like going to school, playing with other kids and even going to the mall.
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