Sara says reported COVID-19 cases in schools a ‘natural consequence’ of reopening of sectors

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday said the reported COVID-19 infections in schools was a natural consequence of the reopening of different sectors, like education.

In an interview with reporters, Duterte was asked how they intend to address the COVID-19 situation in educational institutions, considering that the Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed receiving reports of COVID-19 cases in several schools.

“Sa lahat naman ng lugar ‘no, hindi lang sa eskwelahan, even sa ating mga workplaces at iba pang mga establishments, meron talagang COVID. This is but a natural consequence ng ating pagbalik sa mga trabaho, sa ating paaralan, sa simbahan, sa mga malls,” Duterte said.

(In all places, not just in schools, even in our workplaces and other establishments, there are COVID-19 cases. This is but a natural consequence of our return to our jobs, schools, churches, and malls.)

Both the DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH) said that COVID-19 cases are expected in schools since the pandemic is still prevalent in the country.

Despite this, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed that what is important is that the children do not acquire severe or critical diseases by being vaccinated.

Duterte also emphasized that despite the infections, the government has to continuously ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines and medicines are available to the public, and that hospital admissions are not increasing.

“Ang mahalaga lang sa pandemic is that we ensure that ‘yung bakuna ay available para sa ating mga citizens. Pangalawa, ‘yung gamot na Molnupiravir at Paxlovid ay available para sa mga nagkakasakit ng COVID na qualified sa mga gamot na ito. Pangatlo, ‘yung ating critical care capacities ng ating mga hospitals ay hindi nao-overwhelm,” she said.

(The only important thing in this pandemic is that we ensure that the vaccines are available for the citizens, the COVID-19 drugs Molnupiravir and Paxlovid are available for those qualified to receive them, and that the critical care capacities of our hospitals do not get overwhelmed.)

Neither the DOH nor DepEd has released data on the number of students infected with coronavirus since the resumption of in-person classes on August 22.

Vergeire has, however, repeatedly stressed that the primary defense of the students against COVID-19 is vaccination, urging the parents and guardians to have their children get the jabs.

Currently, both students and teachers may participate in in-person classes despite their vaccination status.

Full face-to-face

Additionally, Duterte said that Cabinet officials of the Marcos administration are still discussing the possible adjustments for the full implementation of face-to-face classes for both public and private schools starting November 2.

She said the DepEd will submit a report to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. regarding the schools’ options on whether they will push through with blended learning or mandatory five-day in-person classes by next month.

“Meron kaming report na ginagawa ngayon para kay Pangulong Marcos at makapagdesisyon siya kung ano po ‘yung ways forward natin with regard to the options na binibigay natin sa ating mga eskwelahan,” Duterte said.

(We are preparing a report for President Marcos so he can decide what are the ways forward regarding the options that we can give to our schools.)—AOL, GMA News