Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 10)— The government will not push back its plans to expand the conduct of limited face-to-face classes amid the threat of the Omicron variant, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
In a media conference on Friday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said they continue to hope that Omicron may not be as vicious as previous variants.
“So tuloy pa rin tayo (we’ll continue),” Briones said.
“So far, walang (there are no) infections and as you can see from report from regions, every precaution to protect our children and staff is being undertaken so that we can proceed with face to face,” she explained.
One hundred schools started holding limited in-person classes for certain grade levels last Nov. 15 as part of the DepEd’s pilot study. The list of participating schools has since increased to almost 300.
The pilot will run until the end of December. Education officials are hoping to expand this by January.
The DepEd issued a memorandum directing all public and private schools to prepare for limited face-to-face classes.
This includes coordination with local government units to fast-track vaccination of teachers, and plan for orientation of parents and students.
“The expanded phase shall already cover all grade levels from K-12,” the memo reads.
The DepEd said no COVID-19 cases have so far been confirmed among schools holding limited face-to-face classes.
There have been absences in some schools, however, as some students are reported to have cough, colds, or fever.
“Siguro malamig na kasi ngayon eh baka change of temperature or climate baka ito ‘yung normally effect sa atin lalo sa mga kabataan,” DepEd director Roger Masapol said.
[Translation: Maybe because it’s cold, maybe it’s the change of temperature or climate, so this may be the normal effect especially for the children.]
