Amid new COVID-19 variants, Pimentel says practical solutions needed to continue in-person classes

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Thursday raised the need for "practical solutions" to continue the implementation of in-person classes, saying the children's future might be compromised if we will not learn to live with the virus.

"Yes, (that's) common sense yan. Avoid too much crowding. Pay attention to ventilation and air circulation. Hanapan ng practical solutions yan (Find practical solutions for that)," Pimentel told reporters in a Viber message when asked if there is a need to recalibrate face-to-face classes amid the emergence of new COVID-19 variants.

He pointed out that people should learn to live with COVID-19, noting that there are thousands of viruses that currently exist.

"[Regarding] new COVID variant, there are more than 3,000 viruses 'out there.' We cannot live to be afraid of all of them. We have to live with them, especially coronaviruses since these have been with humans, mammals and other animals since time immemorial," Pimentel said.

"Hence, it is time to learn to live with the COVID virus. Also, if we do not allow our children to be educated today and learn, we worry for their future when they become the adults and it is their time to run our society," he added.

Pimentel said there might be  pandemics or health emergencies that the children may face in the future.

"Would they then have been equipped with the needed skills and training and critical scientific thinking to be able to deal with their own societal problems and challenges? Time does not come back. Let us not waste it," he said.

"Our young ones are only young once. Let youth not be wasted on the young. Let our youth experience life to the fullest. And effective age appropriate education and interaction with peers are essential parts of life," he added.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education said there are no changes yet regarding the implementation of five-day in-person classes in public schools in November despite the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant.

The Department of Health recently announced the detection of 81 cases of the new COVID-19 Omicron XBB subvariant and 193 cases of the XBC variant. — Hana Bordey/RSJ, GMA News