Students and teachers in Rizal province have expressed their gratitude to the Department of Education Schools Division of Rizal (DepEd-Rizal) for suspending classes from Jan. 17 to Jan. 29, saying it will give the education sector enough time to rest, especially this time when coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the province continue to surge.

The class suspension advisory that the DepEd-Rizal posted on its official Facebook has generated more than 4,000 “likes,” more than 3,000 “shares,” and 475 comments from netizens.

A certain Precy Santos of Pililla, Rizal said, “Thank you DepEd for your great concern,” in the comment section. It even has a thumb-up sign.

James Florenz Barbin of Angono wrote, “Stay safe teachers” in the comment section.

Eden Sigler Matawaran of Tanay expressed her gratitude to DepEd-Rizal by sending a message in GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), an animated image of a girl with her hands in a praying gesture.

Zeny San Andres Palileo, whose Facebook profile says she is a school principal in Montalban Heights National High School in Rodriguez, Rizal, sent the words “‘Thank You So Much” in colorful and flashing fonts with three heart images.

Teacher Joanne Estallo of Teresa National High School-Senior High School, in a phone interview, told Manila Bulletin that the decision of the DepEd Rizal and DepEd Calabarzon to suspend classes was a right and timely move as it would greatly help both the teachers and the students, especially those who are sick, in their recovery to wellness.

She bared that most of her co-teachers have cough or colds while some have fever, but they continue to attend online classes, checking modules of their students, writing lesson plans, and doing other school-related paper works on a work-from-home scheme despite their health condition.

Estallo said there are some 100 out of the 1,278 students who are currently unwell based on the latest survey conducted by the school.

“Some parents were not able to submit their children’s modules on time due to health reasons,” Estallo, who is also a parent, told Manila Bulletin.

Menchie Ilagan, a mother of four school children from Antipolo City, also said giving the students a brief break from online and offline school lessons is a big help not only for the students’ physical wellbeing but also for their mental health.

“Helpful, because it is not just for physical recovery but the mental health as well. Kalalabas pa lang ulit ng mga bata, magsisimula pa lang ulit maging masaya, (The kids have just been allowed to go out, they’re just starting to be happy again), but they will have to be locked down again?,” said Ilagan, referring to the extension of Alert Level 3 in Rizal until Jan. 31.

Classes in public schools in Rizal will resume on Feb. 7 for the continuation of the Second Quarter of the school calendar.