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MANILA, Philippines – To ensure that students do not contract the coronavirus once face-to-face classes have resumed, the Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking to limit the contact time of those taking public transportation.
DepEd undersecretary and spokesman Nepomuceno Malaluan told the Senate basic education committee on Wednesday that contact time should not exceed 30 minutes.
During the hearing, Malaluan informed the committee that DepEd has produced a supplementary guide to the so-called seven commandments of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for all regulated public transport.
“If there is a regulated public transport to school and this will be just a complement and really if there is a compelling reason to include some form of public transport, then we are only sharing the so-called seven commandments issued by DOTr on the use of public transport.” , He said.
“We do not include it here, but an additional guideline here is limiting the contact time to no more than 30 minutes in a vehicle,” Malaluan added.
DOTr’s seven commandments for all regulated public transportation are the use of proper masks, the use of face shields, no talking or eating, adequate ventilation, frequent and adequate disinfection, passengers without symptoms, and adequate physical distancing.
Malaluan also discussed other security measures during the hearing, such as the limited number of schools and classes that would be allowed if the proposed pilot of face-to-face classes were carried out.
Initial testing was scheduled to begin last January, but was suspended due to new cases of a more contagious variant of the virus in the UK.
EDV
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