Central Visayas athletics meet a go as DepEd says region already safe vs COVID-19

CEBU CITY—The regional athletics meet in Central Visayas will push through in March despite the COVID-19 scare, the spokesperson of the Department of Education (DepEd) regional office said.

Amy Villarmia, regional DepEd information officer, said “consolidated reports have already come out saying that it is already safe.”

She said none of those monitored or observed for COVID-19 in the region tested positive for the virus.

“We cannot stop the parents from feeling less secure,” said Villarmia.

“But we are assuring them that we are on a high alert and we have our own precautionary measures,” she said.

“We will not decide if it is not appropriate,” she added.

The Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association is scheduled in March in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, one of the places visited by the Philippines’ first confirmed COVID-19 cases, a Chinese woman and her boyfriend who already died.

Villarmia said the Negros Oriental provincial government had given assurance that all places visited by the couple from Wuhan, ground zero of COVID-19 infection, had been “disinfected and cleansed.”

She said the DepEd was encouraging students to participate even as fears lingered over COVID-19. The DepEd sought to give assurance that everyone in the region was safe from the virus.

“We will not be putting their health and well-being at risk,” she said.

Edited by TSB