DepEd: National, regional school activities may resume Feb. 24

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday allowed schools to resume national, regional and off-campus activities again beginning Feb. 24.

DepEd earlier postponed events expected to draw thousands of students and off-campus activities such as field or educational trips in a bid to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus disease, now officially called COVID-19.

In a memorandum dated Feb. 19, DepEd said these events could proceed provided all precautionary measures identified by DepEd and the Department of Health would be strictly followed.

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All personnel and learners who decide to proceed with their scheduled personal travels for the month of February to countries identified to have confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be subject to mandatory self-quarantine for 14 days starting on the date of arrival in the Philippines, DepEd said.

Private schools are also “highly encouraged” to adopt the precautionary measures contained in the DepEd memoranda pertaining to its response to the COVID-19.

The DOH has so far reported three confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country.

The first two cases were a Chinese couple who traveled to the country from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. The man died on Feb. 1, the first nCoV death outside China.

The third case, meanwhile, was a 60-year-old Chinese woman who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan via Hong Kong on Jan. 20.

The global death toll from COVID-19 has already breached the 2,000 mark with over 74,000 confirmed infections in more than two dozen countries.

/atm