11 teachers catch COVID-19 after distributing modules

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan , Philippines — Eleven public school teachers who distributed educational modules in Ilagan City, Isabela in time for this week’s opening of classes tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday.

The incident contributed in the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to revert the city to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until Oct. 16.

The Department of Health (DOH) said 10 of the infected teachers were experiencing headache and sore throat when taken to the city government’s quarantine facility.

The other teacher who had fever, cough and difficulty in breathing was confined at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center.

A 13-year-old boy, said to be a recipient of the educational module, was also found positive of the virus, the DOH said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said the teachers were assigned to distribute copies of educational materials covering at least a month up to the whole first quarter in different barangays in Ilagan City’s western district.

While several other teachers are awaiting the results of their swab test, Isabela Gov. Rodolfo Albano III said he sees no reason for the provincial IATF to suspend classes since there are no face-to-face lessons.

Albano acknowledged the sacrifices of teachers as frontliners in this time of pandemic.

Last week, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba drew flak following a radio interview in which he described teachers as “doing nothing but drawing salaries” during the pandemic.

Mamba later withdrew his statement and apologized.