EDITORIAL - Preparing for in-person classes

Desks have been placed farther apart, acrylic dividers have been installed, and school administrators have prepared appropriate protocols to maintain distancing and COVID hygiene as students face their classmates and teachers again in schoolrooms beginning tomorrow.

An initial 100 public schools are participating in the pilot reopening of in-person classes this Monday, followed by 20 private schools beginning Nov. 22. The face-to-face classes are being tested in areas with low COVID risk, as determined by the government’s pandemic response team.

The Department of Education is assessing requests for the addition of more schools including in Metro Manila in the pilot test. DepEd data showed that 484 out of 638 schools have passed its granular risk assessment.

The true test of the risks, naturally, is the actual implementation. Pediatric vaccination has started in the country, but on a limited scale. Citing scientific studies and the experience of other countries, epidemiologists have warned that while children have shown strong resistance to COVID-19, they are also vulnerable particularly to highly transmissible variants such as Delta. There have been critical COVID cases and even deaths involving children of all ages starting from infancy.

Children, vaccinated or not, can also carry the coronavirus and transmit it to adults. At highest risk are the vulnerable elderly and those with comorbidities. With breakthrough infections reported among the vaccinated, and with the pharmaceutical giants themselves warning that the efficacy of their COVID vaccine wanes after a few months, no one can afford to let down their guard.

Education officials and school administrators must ensure that all COVID health safety protocols will be fully enforced in the pilot resumption of in-person classes. The reopening of schools is a critical step in the return to normalcy. It is seen to improve the mental health of children and the health of the economy.

Minors have been allowed outside their homes, but only if accompanied by adults. Parents or guardians can supervise their children in ensuring compliance with COVID health protocols. But in a classroom setting, there will be only one adult overseeing several children. Supervising students outside the classroom would be even more challenging. School administrators must ensure continued compliance with masking, distancing and hand hygiene, if they want a permanent return of face-to-face classes.