Over 50 percent of teachers in the National Capital Region (NCR) are experiencing flu symptoms amid the worst coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the country, a group of education workers said on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, through its NCR chapter, conducted a quick survey on Jan. 10 which revealed that 55.1 percent of teacher -respondents in the region are experiencing flu symptoms amid the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

On the same day that the Department of Health (DOH) recorded the highest daily count of new infections at 33,169, the ACT - NCR Union surveyed a total of 7,448 public school teachers to gather their current health situation.

The most common symptoms experienced by teacher-respondents, the group said, were colds (46.6 percent) and coughs (44.5 percent).

In the same survey, ACT found out that 84.7 percent of respondents continue to teach and perform other school tasks “despite being sick.”

“However, teachers have been reporting that class participation is dropping due to many students also having the flu,” ACT said.

Given this, ACT reiterated its call for the Department of Education (DepEd) to hold a two-week health break in Level 3 areas. This period, the group said, is similar to the number of quarantine days required for individuals who tested positive for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the same survey also showed that 76.2 percent of the respondents have “not received medical support, any leeway at work, or financial aid.”

Despite the high number of respondents with symptoms that align with what COVID-19 positive patients have, the survey revealed that a staggering 96.6 percent do not currently hold a positive test result.

ACT attributes this to a “lack of access to testing” and the still low testing capacity of the government. “

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we reiterate the need for the government to conduct free mass testing which should give us a better picture of the health situation we’re dealing with,” ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said.

Likewise, the group urged the government to ramp up its vaccination program. This, ACT said, should include a massive information drive to address vaccine hesitancy.

“And finally, amid the crises, we call on the national government to provide sufficient aid to the public, especially with the yet again overly restrictive lockdowns,” Basilio said.

Basilio also noted that the government should stop relying on a “largely militaristic" approach to the pandemic that did not work in the last two years.

"It will not work now, we need medical and socio-economic responses," he added.