US donates hygiene kits, COVID-19 supplies to Caloocan school to promote safe return to in-person classes

The United States government on Monday donated hygiene kits and COVID-19 supplies to Gregoria de Jesus Elementary School to promote the safe resumption of face-to-face classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, personally handed over the boxes of COVID-19 supplies composed of a hygiene kit, N95 face masks, finger oximeter, forehead thermometer, and a tablet to the school. They were received by Caloocan City Mayor Dale Gonzalo Malapitan.

“I know the last couple years have been very hard. It had been very hard for schools, it had been very hard for teachers, and children and communities. I know schools have been virtual for over two years as the Philippines has fought so hard against this pandemic,” Emhoff said.

“It is so good to see children back here in schools and in the classrooms. I love it!” he added.

During the event, the Second Gentleman announced that aside from hygiene kits and COVID-19 supplies, the US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will also donate an additional $5 million in financial assistance to the Philippines to ramp up its vaccine rollout.

USAID said that the assistance, funded through the American Rescue Plan, will help “support vaccine distribution for children and adults in line with the Philippine government’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts to intensify and strengthen the country’s wall of immunity.”

Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire welcomed the donations and thanked the US government and the USAID for supporting the full implementation of in-person classes and the government’s efforts to vaccinate children. 

“Our future lies in the brilliance of today’s children, which is why it is imperative that that same whole-of-society approach is maximized to transform our schools and communities into settings that make the healthy choice the easy choice for every Filipino child,” she said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier confirmed receiving reports of COVID-19 cases in several schools. Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, however, said that this was a natural consequence of the reopening of different sectors, like education.

Currently, students and teachers attending face-to-face classes may opt to remove their face masks even in classrooms, in accordance with the existing national policy on the optional masking indoors and outdoors.

For his part, Emhoff stressed that "we cannot let our guard down" as COVID-19 is still lingering, thus vaccination efforts should continue.

“We have been working hard to continue getting everyone, not only in the United States, but everyone around the world, vaccinated. I spent the first year plus traveling all around the country encouraging Americans to get vaccinated, and I take that same encouragement here in the Philippines because we need to keep fighting, we need to keep pushing forward on this vaccination,” he said.

In total, the US government has provided around $50 million worth of assistance to the Philippines for its pandemic response, in partnership with COVAX.

Over 33 million of COVID-19 vaccines doses were also given by the US to the Philippines since the onset of the pandemic.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News