Safe reopening of schools 'an urgent priority': WHO, Unicef officials

ABS-CBN News | June 14, 2021

Regional directors of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
are pushing for the safe reopening of schools, joining the chorus of calls for the resumption of in-person
learning even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

WHO Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai and UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the
Pacific Karin Hulshof urged countries to use what is known about COVID-19 to work towards the safe
reopening of schools.

"With the COVID-19 pandemic now well into its second year, safely reopening schools has become an
urgent priority," Kasai and Hulshof said in a joint opinion piece recently published by Project Syndicate.

Kasai and Hulshof said primary schools, preschools and early childhood development centers are not
"high-risk settings" for COVID-19 transmission, especially if safety measures are followed, noting that
"children account for a very small proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases."

"Children of primary-school age and younger are among the least likely cohorts to be infected. And even
when they do contract COVID-19, they tend to have milder symptoms than adults," they said.

Both officials, however, cautioned on the reopening of secondary schools, which they said "accounted
for a higher number of outbreaks than primary schools."

Partial closures can be an option for secondary schools "but only as a last resort and for limited periods
where community transmission is surging," they said.

Kasai and Hulshof said "there is no such thing as zero risk" against the disease, "but the risks are
manageable with robust mitigation strategies."

The officials also urged policymakers to consider "local context" in resuming in-person classes, which
include factors such as community transmission and a locality's capacity to respond to an increase in
COVID-19 infections.

"In some places, health and education services will need additional resources to implement the
necessary safety measures," they said.

The officials stressed that school reopening is not dependent on COVID-19 vaccines.

Kasai and Hulshof warned of the "grave" and "far-reaching" consequences of prolonged school closures
on students' physical and mental health, skills attainment, and earning prospects.

Both said countries in developing Asia "should prepare for a reduction in the expected gains in reading
and math skills for children in both preschool and primary school, as well as a wider achievement gap
between disadvantaged children and their peers" because of the closures.

Last week, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in the Philippines urged the education and budget
departments as well as Congress "to take concrete steps to enable the safe and limited reopening of
schools as soon as possible in low-risk areas."

ACT also asked the agencies and lawmakers to "address the multiple gaps in the implementation of the
government’s nationwide remote learning program."

"On top of improving the rate of immunization in the country, the Duterte government must give equal
attention to putting in place ample measures that will allow limited face-to-face classes in areas with
little to no COVID-19 cases," it said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing for the gradual resumption of in-person classes,
awaiting only for President Rodrigo Duterte's go signal.

The agency planned to hold a dry run of limited face-to-face classes in select areas earlier this year but
Duterte canceled this over fears of more contagious coronavirus variants.

Both the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education have urged education workers to get
vaccinated against COVID-19, which they believe will advance the chances of safely returning to schools.

The government has allowed select colleges and universities with medical and allied health programs to
hold limited in-person classes to ensure that the country would not run out of health workers.

Sec. Ma. Leonor Briones

 It is just an advice
 we have laws, August should be the latest to open classes
 the president, in times of calamity, can determine when to open classes
 Sec. of education should advice the president
 DepEd is prepared and are studying the situations of other countries
 last year, we gave 3 choices, and we will give him again
 either august or September opening
 01

 the cabinet was unanimous in approving the pilot reopening

 however, the variants came
 now, we have several variants
 DepEd needs to consult with DOH and IATF
 the president is looking forward for the full vaccination of children
 DepEd's stand does not change, that education must continue
 but if the variants will not be under control, then we will resort largely to blended learning
 02

 initial studies on the effect of covid on children

 children can be carriers but their resistance is strong
 there are new studies that the latest variant, delta, has different effect on children
 we have to study well if it is needed to vaccinate the children
 if the children can be vaccinated, then we can reopen face to face on a limited basis
 but DepEd is ready in any kind of methodology
 03

 parting words
 04