Baguio may not open schools in June until COVID-19 is contained

BAGUIO CITY –– The summer capital may not open schools in June unless cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) here and in outlying lowland provinces have been trimmed or a vaccine has been discovered, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Thursday (April 23).

Half of the city’s university student population of about 53,000 are from other towns, including Pangasinan and Metro Manila, where a high rate of infection had been recorded, Magalong said during a consultation with Baguio businessmen.

“I am inclined not to allow the new semester or school year to open in June looking at the numbers,” he said unless transmissions in Pangasinan and Manila subside.

That’s the same characteristic of the pupils enrolled in grade schools and high schools, both public and private, which numbered a little over 90,000 during the 2019 enrollment, he said.

Baguio has recorded 19 COVID-19 patients since March, but 12 have since recovered.

Magalong earlier suspended all school activities, including the graduations scheduled in May.

It was not clear if the directive affects the graduation of the Philippine Military Academy Masidlawin Class of 2020, which is scheduled next month at Fort del Pilar.

Since March, PMA had enforced a total lockdown to protect its cadets.

LZB