STUDENTS and teaching and non-teaching staff who have yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are now allowed to participate in limited face-to-face (F2F) classes in UST, the Office of the Secretary General has announced.
The University made the move days before Prospero de Vera III, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), said it was scrapping its vaccination requirement for participants in F2F classes.
In a memorandum containing the University’s new health and safety protocols, UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said Thomasians were still encouraged to be vaccinated.
“The University reiterates its strong encouragement for students and staff to be fully vaccinated and avail booster shots against Covid-19,” Coronel said in the memo.
The “zoning policy” was also removed by UST, allowing students and staff participating in the classes to enter the campus through different pedestrian gates.
Earlier, the University removed the requirement for students participating in F2F classes to secure medical insurance.
“However, the University strongly encourages students to continue availing [themselves] of insurance coverage for added financial support for medical needs, not only for Covid-19 but likewise for other illnesses,” Coronel said.
Other University health protocols were maintained, such as accomplishing the daily health declaration form through the Thomasian Online Medical Support and Services (ThOMedSS) or StaySafe.PH app, wearing a well-fitting mask, physical distancing, and frequent hand sanitizing.
Only students participating in scheduled F2F classes on a specific day will be allowed to enter a building.
They need to tap their ID cards upon entering. F2F participants may present their registration forms or appointment papers, vaccination cards, and accomplished ThOMedSS health declaration form instead of their ID.
To ensure better ventilation in classrooms, doors and windows will remain open in facilities without exhaust systems or air filters and purifiers.
The University also encouraged students to bring packed meals and reminded them to follow the health and safety protocols when dining in public places inside and outside the campus by strictly observing physical distancing, checking the ventilation of a facility, and removing masks only when eating.
