Health Secretary Franciso Duque III showed support at the idea of reopening of classes in August despite the absence of a vaccine against coronavirus, in direct contrast to an earlier sentiment of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Sa ngayon, tingin namin ay ligtas naman po kung bubuksan natin ang klase by August 24,” he said during a virtual Senate hearing.
[For now, our view is that it’s safe for classes to open by August 24.]
Duque’s statement came exactly a day after Duterte expressed that he did not approve of the opening of school classes until there was an available vaccine for the students against COVID-19.
On the other side of the table, Duque said it is safe to start classes as long as they observe minimum health standards, such as physical distancing, wearing of face masks, and disinfecting of classrooms.
“We hope the vaccines will be available at the soonest possible time. But habang wala pa, siguraduhin lang natin ang minimum health standards are met to mitigate the risks to our school children,” he added.
[We are hoping the vaccine becomes at the soonest possible time. But while it is not yet available, we should ensure minimum health standards are met to mitigate the risks to our school children.]
But the Palace remained firm in its stand that face-to-face classes should remain suspended until a vaccine becomes available.
“Habang wala pang bakuna at habang wala pa tayo sa new normal — ‘yung wala na pong community quarantine, hindi pa rin po tayo magkakaroon ng face-to-face na mga klase,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
[Until there is no vaccine and we are not yet in the new normal — meaning there is no community quarantine anymore, we will not hold face-to-face classes.]
All parts of the country remain under varying degrees of community quarantine. There are four levels of community quarantine — enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ, general community quarantine (GCQ), and modified GCQ. Once community lockdowns are lifted, the country will remain under the “new normal” or continual observing minimum health standards.
This is the second time the chief executive and health secretary has produced different sentiments.
