PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte on Thursday night announced the extension of the suspension of classes in Metro Manila until April 12, after code red sub-level 2 was raised to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the Philippines.
The University meanwhile suspended online classes from March 13 to 14 “to allow Thomasians to attend to personal and family concerns.”
“The continuity plan for teaching and learning is being reviewed to address feedback on its initial implementation,” the March 13 UST advisory read.
The President announced the month-long suspension in a press conference addressing the nation on the Covid-19 outbreak, after a meeting with the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
According to the resolution passed by IATF-EID, dated March 12, 2020, classes in all levels are suspended until April 12, 2020, “provided that all students shall continue to fulfill their educational requirements during the said period, and all concerned local government units shall be responsible for implementing measures to ensure that students remain in their homes during the period.”
Duterte placed Metro Manila under “community quarantine.”
Domestic land, air and sea travel in and out of Metro Manila will be suspended from March 15, 2020 until April 14, 2020.
However, mass public transportation will continue to operate. Passengers must observe social distancing at all times.
The Department of Health has recorded 52 cases of Covid-19, with five deaths.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic or a “worldwide spread of a new disease” after recording more than 118,000 cases of the virus in 114 countries around the world.
