Optional wearing of face masks in school settings raises concerns for the safety of teachers and students, especially in cramped classrooms.
Students and teachers, who have started face to face classes yesterday, following a Department of Education order, are concerned of possible infection surges, particularly for those attending physical classes in crowded classrooms like those in public schools.
Rep. France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the DepEd seems to be removing the bare minimum standard of protection within educational institutions, on top of not providing funds for assisting COVID-19 positive teachers and students, and for weekly COVID-19 testing.
“The DepEd should at least implement minimum health standards in schools, especially wearing face masks, since it cannot even provide adequate facilities to implement proper social distancing. Cramped classrooms also fail to provide proper ventilation.” Inquirer quoted Castro.
The Department of Health (DoH) distanced itself from DepEd's policy, citing concerns for students' well-being and safety.
“Should they pursue this, the optional use of face masks in schools is aligned with the Office of the President’s Executive Order No. 3 and 7 which allows the optional use of face masks both indoors and outdoors for certain health settings.” the DoH added.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa told reporters that the department would issue an amendatory department order to formalize the new policy.
Challenges in the school setting
DoH stressed the need for “proper assessment of when to wear or not wear masks” to ensure a stronger wall of immunity and prevent further virus transmissions in crowded places such as school settings.
It advised students and school personnel to consider other "layers of protection," such as sanitation, physical distancing, vaccination, and good ventilation.
Likewise, Castro also believes that the issue of inadequate or lack of health facilities and health professionals in schools, as well as ventilation issues, should be addressed first.
“Ensuring a safe school environment not only protects teachers and students from diseases, but also improves the quality of education our students receive and a safer work environment for teachers and school personnel.” She noted.
The DoH has yet to respond to inquiries about whether DepEd's move merits recommending that children aged 5 to 11 receive their first booster shot.
Based on DoH’’s data as of Oct. 24, only 5.2 million of the target population in that age group had been fully vaccinated and only 11.5 percent of eligible 12 to 17-year-olds have received their first booster dose.
Face masks would still be the students’ last line of defense despite the DepEd’s new policy to ensure that students are truly protected against the virus.
“Personally, I would advise my students to still wear their face masks since that is their only protection. There are no available water and sanitation facilities, impossible physical distancing so they should just wear their masks inside the room.” Benjo Basas, national chair of Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, said.
Covid-19 cases report
Based on the DoH data tracker, the country recorded its lowest daily Covid-19 case tally in more than four months on Tuesday with 676 new infections recorded.
The figure was the lowest since June 28, when 576 single-day infections were recorded across the country. After more than three months, the number of active infections, or people who are currently ill with COVID-19, fell below 20,000.
The total number of cases in the country was 4,005,157, with 64,109 deaths.
However, some health experts have raised concerns about going mask-free because the country may have unintentionally underreported COVID-19 cases due to rapid antigen test results not being included in the tally, which would also give a false sense of security about Covid-19 cases going down.
Dr. Tony Leachon, a former public health adviser to the government, said that infections may jump to as much as 10,000 by the middle of November or next month.
The DoH predicted a much higher number of cases, which is up to 18,000 if the public becomes complacent and ignored basic health protocols.
Tags: #DepEd, #DoH, #Covid-19, #FaceMask