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Face-to-face classes during COVID-19: a call for deliberate
and well-planned school health protocols in the Philippine

context
Schooling is one of the most affected aspects of human life

due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In a
recent correspondence published, the authors reminded every
country of their responsibility to come up with strategies to
reopen schools safely. This paper reiterates the adherence of
school health protocols as significant in the delivery of face-
to-face classes following national and international
guidelines in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 pandemic as
a public health crisis.

Schooling is one of the most affected aspects of human life

due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Since
the rise and threat of the pandemic, many countries around
the world have decided to temporarily close schools that have
affected millions of students.1 Consequently, students who
are mostly children have been facing a learning crisis due to
the pandemic.2 In a recent correspondence published in this
journal, the authors cited that every country has the
responsibility to come up with strategies to reopen schools in
a safe manner.

In the Philippines, the government’s Department of Education has

come up with guidelines to implement online and modular distance
learning delivery of instruction. This is to safeguard students from
being infected by the disease. However, plans to conduct the pilot
implementation of limited face-to-face delivery in low-risk areas
of COVID-19 transmission for January 2021 have been approved
by the president but later recalled due to the threat of the new
strain of COVID-19. Predicaments are raised whether the country
is ready to open its schools for students to go for face-to-face
learning despite having been one of the longest and strictest
lockdowns in the world.

School reopening for face-to-face interactions must be carefully

planned to ensure the safety of students as well as teachers and
school staff in a staged fashion especially in following physical
distancing. Planning and execution of school health protocols
during this pandemic must be supported by the truthful data9
being given by various institutions. Last 11 December 2020, the
World Health Organization (WHO) has published a checklist to
support school reopening and the preparation for the possible
resurgence of COVID-19.WHO cited that ‘The checklist is aligned
with, and builds upon, existing COVID-19-related WHO guidelines
and is structured around protective measures related to: 1) hand
hygiene and respiratory etiquette; 2) physical distancing; 3) use of
masks in schools; 4) environmental cleaning and ventilation; and
5| respecting procedures for isolation of all people with symptoms.
The checklist helps policymakers and school officials to enhance
compliance and adherence to public health protocols in the time of
the pandemic.
In conclusion, school health protocols in conducting face-to-
face classes must be planned carefully following national and
international guidelines to ensure that students will be safe or
at least mitigate the effects of COVID-19. After all, students’
lives matter as education does to them. That is the
responsibility of every government to ensure its fulfillment.
REFERENCES
1. UNESCO . UNESCO’s support: Educational response to COVID-19. 2020 January. 1, 2021];
Available from: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/support.
2. UN . Policy Brief:The Impact of COVID-19 on children, 2020, 1–17.
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/160420_Covid_Children_Policy_Brief.pdf.
3. Fernandez-Guzman D, Sangster-Carrasco L, Pinedo-Soria A. COVID-19 in Latin America and
the Caribbean: what is known about the status of school reopening? J Pub Health 2020.
10.1093/pubmed/fdaa205. [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
4. DEPED . DepEd prepares Self-Learning Modules for education’s new normal. 2020. July 11,
2020 January 1, 2021]; Available from: https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/07/02/deped-prepares-
self-learning-modules-for-educations-new-normal/.
5. DEPED . Official Statement on the Pilot Implementation of Limited Face-to-Face Classes, 2020.
https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/12/15/official-statement-on-the-pilot-implementation-of-
limited-face-to-face-classes/.
6. DEPED . On the recall of the President’s approval of the pilot run of face-to-face classes, 2020.
https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/12/26/on-the-recall-of-the-presidents-approval-of-the-pilot-
run-of-face-to-face-
classes/#:∼:text=December%2026%2C%202020%20%E2%80%93%20Secretary%20Leonor,origi
nally%20scheduled%20in%20January%202021.
7. Viner RM, Bonell C, Drake L et al. Reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic:
governments must balance the uncertainty and risks of reopening schools against the clear
harms associated with prolonged closure. Arch Dis Child Manila, Philippines: Department of
Education, 2020. 10.1136/archdischild-2020-319963. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef]
[Google Scholar]
8. Sheikh A, Sheikh A, Sheikh Z, Dhami S. Reopening schools after the COVID-19 lockdown. J Glob
Health 2020;10(1):010376. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
9. Sarmiento PJD, Yap JFC, Espinosa KAG et al. The truth must prevail: citizens’ rights to know the
truth during the era of COVID-19. J Pub Health 2020;fdaa240. 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa240. [PMC
free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
10. WHO . Checklist to support schools re-opening and preparation for COVID-19 resurgences
or similar public health crises. 2020. December 11, 2020 January 1, 2021]; Available from:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240017467.

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Face-to-face classes during COVID-19: a call for deliberate

and well-planned school health protocols in the Philippine

Schooling is one of the most affected aspects of human life

Schooling is one of the most affected aspects of human life

In the Philippines, the government’s Department of Education has

School reopening for face-to-face interactions must be carefully

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