Senior high school students of Albay school in quarantine after Senate visit

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – A school in this city on Thursday, March 12, placed a group of senior high school students and several teachers on 14-day home quarantine after they visited the Senate, where a guest at a March 5 hearing had tested positive for COVID-19.

St Agnes Academy (SAA), Albay’s oldest Catholic school, also suspended classes from grade school to high school on Friday, March 13, until March 25, as a precautionary measure.

“We have decided to quarantine the grades 11 to 12 HUMMS (Humanities and Social Sciences Strand) and teacher-chaperones who went to Manila and visited the Senate. They are at home until the 25th of this month to fulfil the 14 days quarantine period as recommended by our school doctor and health officials,” SAA Directress Sr Celine Saplala said in a statement on Thursday, March 12.

“In the midst of our growing concern over the fast spreading COVID-19, we, Sisters and lay administrators of St Agnes Academy, have decided to come up with precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our learners and personnel and other stakeholders,” Saplala added.

Twelve senators have said they would go on self-quarantine after learning about the COVID-19 patient who attended one of their hearings on March 5. Senators Nancy Binay and Sherwin Gatchalian were the first to go in self-quarantine as they attended the hearing, while others followed suit as they had interacted with the two senators.

Binay, Gatchalian, and the other senators had yet to experience any COVID-19 symptoms when they went in quarantine and said they did this as a preventive measure. The Senate was placed under restricted access to disinfect the premises.

In her statement, Saplala also said that SAA teachers have prepared modules for students during the two-week class suspension, which would be submitted when they return to school on March 26.

The school also suspended office and maintenance work until March 25, and canceled scheduled activities during the class suspension period. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 52 as of Thursday. – Rappler.com