PMA injects self with changes to deal with coronavirus

BAGUIO CITY—New cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will be tested for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and go on quarantine before they are allowed into the city to join the military school, according to a PMA spokesperson. Once in PMA, the 350 cadets of Class of 2024 will be segregated from the Corps of Cadets when they begin training, said Navy Capt. Cheryl Tindog on Tuesday (June 2). The new cadets would have arrived at the academy on June 1. But extra precautions have been undertaken to spare cadets currently attending class from contracting coronavirus, Tindog said. Since the pandemic broke out, the premiere military school had been closed to the public, and its traditional activities like the May 22 graduation of PMA Masidlawin Class of 2020 was held indoors without parents. Incoming cadets were told to complete 14 days of quarantine. Tindog said cadets who are cleared by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, which are the standard confirmatory laboratory results, would be allowed to travel to Baguio. Cadets who test positive would be confined in military camps, until they heal and are granted the medical clearance to enter PMA. PMA Class 2024 would be given reception rites on June 15. Training inside the academy has adjusted to the social distancing requirements of the quarantine, Tindog said, so combat and physical exercises will require wider spaces to keep cadets apart. A “no-touch” policy will also be enforced. Face-to-face classroom engagements will depend on the subjects, and social distancing inside the rooms will be observed, Tindog said. Many classes have resorted to online lectures or homework between February and May, some teachers there said. Edited by TSB