Dagupan City orders academic break as 1,000 students report flu-like symptoms

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – Mayor Marc Brian Lim ordered on Monday, January 17, a weeklong academic health break for elementary to senior high schools in this city as the local government grappled with rising COVID-19 cases.

The mayor’s Executive Order No. 3 series of 2022 takes effect on Tuesday, January 18, and will last until Wednesday next week, January 25.

Lim signed the order after receiving reports that  250 teaching and non-teaching personnel, and 1,000 learners from different schools were experiencing cough, colds, and flu-like symptoms.

So far, four Schools Division Office personnel and four teachers in the city have tested positive for Covid-19. Others were waiting for their RT-PCR test results.

The city government’s order aimed to give students, teachers, and non-teaching personnel of all public and private academic institutions “a respite from physical and mental fatigue caused by the pandemic.”  

Lim said the order also gave schools sufficient time to recalibrate minimum health protocols for Covid-19 protection.

Tertiary level schools were given the discretion of suspending or continuing classes.

The city announced 50 new cases on Sunday, January 16, with 525 active cases, one new death, and 19 recoveries.

The numbers are expected to rise sharply if the city tests all school-related complaints.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David, in his tweet on January 14, considered Dagupan City at “critical risk”, with “a very high” Average Daily Attack Rate (ADAR) of 29.60 per 100,000 population and an infection rate of 4.58. – Rappler.com

Ahikam Pasion is a Luzon-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.