DepEd: COVID-19 Alert Level 1 campuses to relax social distancing protocol

An official of the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday said schools under a COVID-19 Alert Level 1 can ease social distancing requirements starting the School Year 2022-2023 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said this was based on the most recent guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).

“Sa Alert Level 1 ay i-relax na din sa darating na pasukan yung physical distancing requirement,” said Malaluan. “So yun ang malaking pagbabago.”

(For schools under Alert Level 1, physical distancing can be relaxed in the coming school year. So that’s the biggest change.)

However, Malaluan added that the number of students allowed inside campuses has been limited and only schools under Alert Level 1 and 2 can hold face-to-face classes.

So far, around 80% of schools are ready to conduct in-person classes. The DepEd expected the other schools to follow suit by the coming academic year this August.

The DepEd is now crafting new overall guidelines for the coming school year which involve learning delivery modalities among other components.

According to Malaluan, some innovations from distance learning may be retained.

Furthermore, these overall guidelines might be just forwarded to the next DepEd administration under the leadership of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte.

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. designated Duterte as Education Secretary

On Saturday, Sara said she would look into the possibility of a full resumption of face-to-face classes once she assumes the leadership of the department. — DVM, GMA News