Hindi inirerekomenda ng Department of Health (DOH) ang regular na coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing sa mga kaguruan, estudyante at school personnel na magiging bahagi ng pilot implementation ng limitadong face-to-face classes.

Ayon kay Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, susunod pa rin sa itinakdang risk-based testing protocols ang implementasyon ng pisikal na klase. Ibig sabihin, tanging may sintomas o exposed lang ang isasailalim sa COVID-19 testing.

“We still follow our risk-based testing protocols,” sabi ni Vergiere sa isang virtual signing ng Joint of Memorandum Circular (JMC) para sa pilot implementation ng in-person learning setup nitong Lunes, Setyembre 27.

“We do not recommend the regular testing of students and even teachers and non-teaching personnel to be tested in order for them to be able to go to the schools,”dagdag niya.

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Nilalaman ng JMC ang mga guidelines sa muling pagbubukas ng mga eskwelahan.

“What we are going to do would be to do it based on the risk-based protocol of the DOH that whenever there would be those children or even the teachers and the non-teaching personnel having symptoms is the time that we do isolation and then we do testing,” paliwanag ng opisyal.

Kasalukuyang hinahabi naman ang contingency plans bilang hiwalay na guidelines sa oras na tumaas ang inpeksyon habang nagpapatuloy ang klase.

“We have to be reminded, the expectation would be that there would be really infections. We’re not saying that they will infected because they went to school because even if they don’t go to school the risk of being infected is there,”sabi ni Vergiere.

“So we are now anticipating that if ever there would be infections, we will be able to manage because of the protocols that we are going to institute,”idinagdag nito.

Muling binigyan-diin ng DOH ang kahalagahan ng pagsunod sa mga minimum health protocols at ang agarang pag-ulat sa mga posibleng kaso ng COVID-19.

Joseph Aldrin Casinas