Western Visayas Schools: Classes to open on schedule despite H1N1 threat

ILOILO CITY – Classes will go on as scheduled to start on Monday, June 1, 2009 for School Year 2009-2010.
This was assured by the Department of Education here despite the increasing number of cases of the pandemic Type H1N1 virus currently attacking 46 countries with 12,515 cases and 91 deaths as of Monday, May 25, 2009.
DepEd is reportedly waiting for a recommendation from the Department of Health for postponement of school opening of classes. But with the absence of such recommendation, the education department is set to mobilize all schools in the country to open their classrooms as scheduled for the incoming students.
In Western Visayas, more than 500,000 students are set to go to all public schools in elementary and high schools.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz issued a memorandum to all regional, provincial and city divisions of schools to help in information dissemination and intensify awareness campaigns on the Type A/H1N1 virus.

The memorandum orders the creation of H1N1 task forces in the regional, division and district levels. It also orders school health and nutrition personnel to disseminate information about the virus to pupils and teachers. The memorandum comes with a four-page information sheet about the virus.
It orders teachers to work with barangay and local officials in the information drive and in identifying residents of the community who have come from any H1N1-affected country.
City division superintendent Erlinda Gencaya said the schools under her jurisdiction are all ready to absorb the flock of enrollees and to open all its classrooms on June 1 after the Brigida Eskwela completed its clean-up and minor repairs of the schools.

This city is host to 13 public high schools and 52 elementary schools on top of several private schools offering high school subjects and elementary grades, vocational-technical colleges, training institutions, colleges and 6 universities.
The health department has confirmed 2 Type A (H1N1) cases. The first positive case was a 10-year-old girl who arrived in the country from Los Angeles, USA on May 18 and a 50-year-old female from Chicago, USA who arrived in the Philippines last May 20. Both are now in stable and improved condition after undergoing treatment.