Fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 cases may happen with the resumption of in-person classes on August 22, the independent group OCTA Research said.
“We cannot avoid outbreaks—not surge per se—but there will be outbreaks in schools. Infections will be expected,” OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said.
Some 14.1 million children and teenagers have been fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of the school opening, the Department of Health said.
Of the figure, some 9.8 million are teenagers ages 12 to 17, while around 4.3 million are kids ages 5 to 11.
To ensure the safety of both students and teachers with face-to-face classes, the Department of Education said it will release a set of guidelines that must be adopted by schools, fully-aware of how difficult it will be to maintain physical distancing among learners.
“DepEd is going to come up with a Department Order reiterating specifically the safety and health standards in schools,” DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa said.
DepEd data showed some 76 percent of schools nationwide implemented limited in-person classes last school year.
Poa underscored the need for “measures that can be taken to avoid overcrowding in classrooms.”
Meanwhile, Metro Manila registered a slight increase in its daily positivity rate over the past three days, OCTA reported Saturday.
David said the National Capital Region had a daily positivity rate of 17.9 percent as of Thursday, August 11, up from 15.9 percent on Aug. 9.
“With slight increases over the past 3 days, it is not yet clear if the positivity rate has already peaked in the NCR, but the trendline looks flat at the moment,” David said.
The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.
David said the COVID-19 wave in the country was lasting longer than expected and could continue until the “ber” months.
On Saturday, the country logged 4,679 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total caseload to 3,827,758, the Department of Health said – the third straight day that the 4,500 new cases level was breached.
Active cases stood at 40,324.
Metro Manila registered 15,843 new cases in the past two weeks, followed by Calabarzon with 10,052, Central Luzon with 5,212, Western Visayas with 2,873, and Cagayan Valley with 2,236.
At least 48 new deaths were recorded, bringing the death toll to 60,992.
The nationwide bed occupancy rate likewise increased to 30.3 percent.