DepEd: Use of schools as quarantine facilities should be last resort

The use of schools as quarantine facilities should be a last resort, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Tuesday.

During the Laging Handa briefing, Briones said the Department of Education (DepEd) would allow requests to use the schools as quarantine facilities but with three conditions.

First, Briones said that the schools should be the last resort for quarantine facilities as there are other huge isolation facilities in the National Capital Region (NCR) that can be used other than the public campuses.

Schools should also be qualified as “appropriate” isolation facility based on the Department of Health guidelines, Briones added.

“‘Di lahat ng classroom bagay na gawin na isolation center. May schools na one room lang ang school clinic, may schools na may lugar talaga for isolation centers. Dapat papasa ito sa requirements ng DOH, kung ano ang hahanapin sa isolation center,” she said.

(Not all classrooms can be used as an isolation center. There are schools that only have a one-room school clinic while there are others that can really be used as an isolation center. These should also pass the requirements set by the DOH.)

Lastly, Briones said the local government units should be in charge of managing the schools used as isolation facilities, noting that it is their “primary responsibility.”

Briones likewise appealed to properly identify schools that will be used for isolation and those that will be assigned as vaccination sites.

She noted there are non-classroom facilities such as school grounds and gymnasiums used for COVID-19-related responses.

“Sige, gamitin ninyo ang schools pero dapat maingat talaga. Hindi natin paghalu-haluin ang academic, itong health, itong vaccination, itong  isolation, etc. kung hindi oobserbahan o mamo-monitor ng DOH at ng LGU,” Briones said.

(We will agree to use these schools but we should not let these facilities be used simultaneously for academic purposes, health responses, vaccination, isolation, etc. without the supervision of the DOH and LGU.)

So far, Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua said 1,212 schools are being used as quarantine facilities.

Of the said number, 422 schools are in Region VIII, 216 in Region V, and only four in Metro Manila.

Pascua said the schools in Metro Manila are not being used as many hospitals and huge quarantine facilities are located in the region.

In March, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos said in a Palace briefing that he asked Briones on the possible use of schools as temporary facilities.

As of Monday afternoon, the DOH said 69% isolation beds in the National Capital Region are currently in use.

The Philippines reported 11,378 new COVID-19 cases on Monday afternoon, raising the total COVID-19 tally to 876,225.—AOL, GMA News