More than 1,000 public schools in the country are being used as quarantine facilities in a bid to help lower the number of COVID-19 cases, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Tuesday. Alain Pascua, education undersecretary, said the classrooms and other facilities — such as gyms — of 1,212 public schools were retrofitted to serve as isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients.
Pascua explained that Eastern Visayas had the most schools used as isolation centers with 422 due to the region’s lack of quarantine facilities. In the National Capital Region, only four of 813 public schools were being used as quarantine facilities. Education Secretary Leonor Briones clarified, however, that schools may only be used as a “last resort” for emergency situations, including the health crisis.