GET VAXXED FIRST Teachers in Cebu City wait to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in preparation for the resumption of in-person classes in this photo taken on March 30, 2022. NESTLE SEMILLA
CEBU CITY — At least 575 schools in Central Visayas were given the go signal by the Department of Education (DepEd) to hold limited in-person classes.
Around 300 of these schools are in Cebu, according to Dr. Salustiano Jimenez, DepEd regional director.
Jimenez said he was expecting more than 1,000 schools in the region to conduct in-person classes before the school year ends in June.
Among the requirements schools have to comply with included the DepEd’s Safety Assessment Tool and concurrence from the parents and the local government.
By next school year, which is expected to start by the first week of August 2022, DepEd hoped to hold in-person classes in all schools in the region, which has more than 4,000 learning institutions, including 1,000 private schools, said Jimenez.
Jimenez stressed that the process being used was still called “limited” in-person classes since students are not going to school five times a week but only on limited hours and days.
GET VAXXED FIRST Teachers in Cebu City wait to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in preparation for the resumption of in-person classes in this photo taken on March 30, 2022. NESTLE SEMILLA
Reminders
He urged schools that would hold in-person classes to follow the health protocols to prevent another surge in COVID-19 cases.
“I keep reminding them, with strong instructions, to observe the protocols set by the Department of Health and the [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases],” he said.
Jimenez hoped that the pandemic would end soon to allow students to continue with their studies without inconvenience.
“I hope all schools throughout Central Visayas will be able to hold in-person classes. I hope we will have a new normal in the DepEd,” he said.
810 active cases
Central Visayas has 810 active COVID-19 cases as of March 31, records from the Department of Health showed. Cebu City accounted for most of the cases at 465, followed by Cebu province (253), Negros Oriental (29), Lapu-Lapu City (24), Mandaue City (22), Bohol (nine), and Siquijor (eight).
Placed under the most lenient alert level 1 until April 15 were the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue; Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental; Tagbilaran City and the the towns Batuan, Corella, Dimiao, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc and Sikatuna in Bohol; and the island province of Siquijor.
The provinces of Cebu, the rest of Negros Oriental, and the rest of Bohol remain under alert level 2.
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