Resumption of face-to-face classes for medical schools, courses eyed

Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., Chief Implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 and Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. Image from the PCOO Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — The government is looking at option to allow face-to-face classes for medical schools and courses in higher education, pandemic response chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

Galvez noted the importance of producing more health workers as the country continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Tinitignan po namin na talagang kung nakikita natin na kailangang kailangan natin ng health workers kaya ito po, yung face-to-face, maganda po na maibalik po iyon lalo na sa mga medical schools at saka medical courses, para magkaroon tayo ng tinatawag na relief para sa ating mga health workers,” Galvez said in a televised briefing.

(If we really need more health workers, we are looking at resuming face-to-face classes in medical schools and medical courses so that we could have relief for our health workers.)

Galvez said Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela City is among educational institutions who have started to reconfigure their school to meet health protocols should face-to-face classes be soon allowed.

Previously, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine to resume its face-to-face clinical internship at the Philippine General Hospital.

When parts of the country were first placed under community quarantine in March, the Association of the Philippine Medical Colleges ordered universities to pull all medical interns out of hospitals in Metro Manila to prioritize their safety.

JPV