DepEd: No COVID-19 cases recorded during 1st week of pilot face-to-face classes

No cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded during the first week of the implementation of the pilot face-to-face classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) has reported.

“We would like to commend the tremendous efforts that our valued stakeholders have provided for the successful and safe pilot run of limited face-to-face classes. The involvement of everybody is crucial to the expansion of the implementation,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement Thursday.

According to DepEd, there were 4,537 learners in Kinder to Grade 3 and Grade 11 to 12 who attended the first week of the pilot run, based on the partial result of the weekly school reporting on the limited F2F classes as of November 24.

Assistant Secretary for the National Academy of Sports and Field Operations Malcolm Garma said parents took note of the guidelines to ensure the safety of students and other personnel in the participating pilot schools’ operations.

“[Bagaman may mga nakapag-ulat] na ilan po sa mga mag-aaral ay nilagnat, ibig sabihin nito ay malinaw sa atin pong mga magulang na kapag ang mga bata ay nakaranas ng ganitong sintomas - ubo, sipon, lagnat, pananakit ng lalamunan - hindi na po nila pinapapasok sa paaralan," Garma said.

(Although some have reported that some of the students had fever, it means that it is clear to parents that if children experience symptoms - cough, cold, fever, sore throat - they are no longer allowed to go to school.)

“I think this is one of the things which we should highlight in terms of orientation and the knowledge of parents regarding the symptoms,” Garma added.

Garma emphasized that the number could still change in the coming days, as the department continues to validate its data from its Learner Information System and Plantilla Items for schools participating in the pilot face-to-face classes.

Citing the latest report dated November 24 from the Planning Service on the pilot run assessment, DepEd said 62 out of 100 or more than 60% of the schools have already submitted their Week 1 assessment report covering November 15 to 19, 2021.

DepEd said this is understandable given that many of the 100 pilot schools are in remote areas with either weak or no internet signal at all. — RSJ, GMA News