CHED: No more postponement of school opening

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no more postponement this time of the opening of classes in colleges and universities due to A(H1N1), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Saturday. CHED Chairman Emmanuel Angeles said he expects some 2.6 million students and 500,000 faculty personnel to report to some 1,726 colleges and universities on Monday. “Di tayo kailangan mag-panic, we are taking all precautions. Kaya umpisa na ang klase, di natin pwedeng i-postpone (We do not need to panic. We are taking all precautions, and we cannot afford to postpone classes anymore)," he said in an interview on dzXL radio. But Angeles also advised students and faculty who have symptoms of A(H1N1) such as fever and flu to stay home. Also, he reiterated his advice to students and faculty to take the needed precautions against A(H1N1) while on campus. He said this includes avoiding malls for the moment. “We can take all precautions to prevent students and faculty from being infected with the virus," he said. Last week, Angeles announced the postponement of the opening of classes from June 8 to 15, after students at De La Salle University were confirmed to have A(H1N1). The Department of Health’s of confirmed flu cases in the country has reached 92. On Thursday night, the World Health Organization declared A(H1N1) a pandemic, but the Department of Health insisted there is no cause for the public to panic. On Friday, WHO raised its tally of officially confirmed swine flu cases by 895 to 29,669 in 74 countries, with Canada posting the biggest increase with 532 new cases. Angeles said the DOH is now monitoring the situation, adding everything is under control. He added the students so far confirmed to have A(H1N1) came from five colleges, and have undergone self-quarantine and treatment. “Tuloy ang schedule ng pag-umpisa. Pinostpone na natin ng one week dahil sa A(H1N1) (The schedule of class opening will push through. We already postponed it by one week)," he said. “Ngayon wala naman problema, wala naman kailangan mag-panic (There is no more problem, there is no need to panic)," he added. On Friday, Nueva Ecija provincial health officer Dr. Benjamin Lopez reported that 11 students from Hilera Elementary School in Jaen town have tested positive for the virus. The figure is not included in the 92 cases previously reported by DOH on Thursday. - GMANews.TV