98% vaccinated

CEBU, Philippines — At least 98 percent of 82,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel in public schools in Central Visayas are now vaccinated against COVID-19.

Efforts are ongoing to convince the remaining two percent, said DepEd-7 Director Salustiano Jimenez.

“Ang uban niini kay nahadlok, ang uban niini kay dili pa kumbinsido, apan wala gyud mohunong ang DepEd sa pagdasig kanila," Jimenez said during the OpenLine News Forum on MyTV.

With the return of face-to-face classes, albeit limited, personnel who are not vaccinated are advised to bring a negative antigen or RT-PCR test result every two weeks.

Jimenez said they are not allowed to hold classes just yet but are assigned to other tasks like checking of papers or preparing modules.

So far, since students were allowed to return to school physically, there have been no cases of them getting infected with COVID-19.

Jimenez said this shows that schools have complied with prescribed health protocols religiously.

"Importante kaayo nang gitawag og shared responsibility," he said.

Up to 91 percent of public schools in Region 7 have started with limited in-person classes. The remaining nine percent are still processing requirements and most of them are big schools that include, among others, a School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT) that will provide   schedules of class sessions and protocols to be used to ensure minimum public health standards are met.

These requirements are set by DepEd and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

The ongoing limited face-to-face classes will be assessed thoroughly as DepEd hopes to bring all students back to school by the new school year in August. /JMO (FREEMAN)