As part of its efforts to ensure the safety of students and personnel once face-to-face classes become mandatory, the Department of Education (DepEd) will be requiring all schools to come up with a Covid-19 infection containment strategy.

DepEd Spokesman Michael Poa, During last week’s presser, said that measures to ensure the health and safety of learners, teachers, and non-teaching personnel are stated in the guidelines for School Year (SY) 2022-2023.

“Aside from the minimum health standards required therein, we are also asking the schools to have an infection control plan or infection containment strategy,” Poa said.

In-person learning, DepEd said, will become mandatory for all schools starting November this year.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/11/face-to-face-classes-will-be-mandatory-for-public-private-schools-this-sy-deped/

With students going back to school, the agency recognizes the possibility that some might show symptoms, contract the disease, or test positive for Covid-19.

The Covid-19 infection control plan, Poa explained, will outline what the schools will do or what protocols will be in place once a student or even its personnel test positive for Covid-19 or when they show symptoms of the disease while in school.

“Kasi di nga natin masasabi na baka may mag-positive na student. Kailangan may plano ang bawat schools kung ano ang gagawin nila, kung ano ang protocols nila diyan (We can't really say, there might be a student who will test positive. Every school needs to have a plan of what they will do, what their protocols are),” Poa said.

“Each school is expected to come up with their own plans because the situation of each school is unique or case-to-case basis,” he explained.

“That’s something that we will be requiring from schools and the regional offices will make sure that each school will have that in place,” he added.

DepEd is also asking for the cooperation of parents or guardians of students to monitor the children at home.

“We also appeal to parents for them to help us in this because it all starts at home,” Poa said.

“If they notice symptoms, do not send them to school --- whether or not it is confirmed to be Covid --- just to ensure that we do not have transmission in schools,” he added. Earlier, the monitor OCTA Research said the Covid-19 outbreaks would be unavoidable in schools once face-to-face classes resume.

As a response, Poa said that DepEd takes the OCTA Research “seriously” because it has been serving as a “guidance” for the public.

“However, if you look at other studies also like UNICEF, there is no direct correlation between in-person classes and transmission as long as there’s minimum health and safety standards,” Poa said.

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