Metro Manila classrooms to be used as quarantine facilities

Half of public school classrooms in Metro Manila will be used as quarantine facilities while these are left vacant due to the shift to blended learning, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) have agreed to use 50 percent of public school classrooms in the National Capital Region as temporary quarantine facilities while the country continues to grapple with a surge in COVID-19 infections.

Metro Manila along with neighboring provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal remain under modified enhanced community quarantine until Aug. 18 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Classrooms will most likely remain vacant until the end of the year since the government prohibited face-to-face classes this year as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

“Resumption of face-to-face classes is set in January 2021, if and when a vaccine and/or medicinal drug is expected to be produced,” Roque said.

The resumption of face-to-face classes in January next year is also expected to be limited in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) that are classified as having a low risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The DepEd has confirmed that the opening of classes would push through on Aug. 24 through blended learning. Under the system, students would be taught using printed learning modules, online instruction, and broadcast through radio and television.