Malacañang said that the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes under the basic education curriculum may happen sooner than expected now that vaccinations against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been picking up.

Roque made the statement after the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 reported that the government has administered 11.7 million doses of coronavirus vaccines as of July 4.

In his press briefing on Monday, July 5, Roque echoed President Duterte's decision to not hold in-person classes due to the threat of COVID-19.

"The President has decided that for now, with the presence of new variants, ayaw muna niyang isugal ‘yung kalusugan ng mga kabataan (He doesn't want to put the children's health at risk). But this will not be the same forever," he said.

The Palace official reiterated that the President wanted more people to be vaccinated first before deciding on allowing the resumption of face-to-face classes. With vaccinations picking up, Roque said this may happen sooner than expected.

"Ang sabi naman ng Presidente, 'Gusto ko munang mabakunahan ang ating mga taumbayan.' As to how many, hindi natin sigurado po (The President said he wanted for the people to be vaccinated first. As to how many, we're not sure)," he said.

"But with 12 million of our people being vaccinated and with some cities of Metro Manila hitting 70, even 100 percent of their population being given the first dose, sabihin natin na hindi naman po magtatagal at baka posibleng magkaroon na tayo ng pilot (we can say that it may not take long before we can have the pilot face-to-face classes)," he added.

"Antayin lang natin ma-administer pa itong mga bakuna na ito (Let's just wait for the other vaccines to be administered)," he continued.

As of July 4, the government has administered 11,708,029 doses of COVID-19 vaccines with 2,868,905 individuals receiving both required shots.

The total doses administered in the 18th week of the national vaccination reached a record high of 1,642,615 doses.

The government has been urging those belonging to priority groups A1 to A5 to register with their local government units, get vaccinated, and complete the required number of doses as scheduled.

Malacañang has been reminding the public to continue practicing the minimum public health standards, regardless of vaccination status, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.