COVID-19: Philippine President says no school until there is a vaccine

While several countries are easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and resuming activities, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly said that he will not allow students to go back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available. In a speech aired on May 26, Duterte said that the risk was too great, even if it held students back academically. He added that unless he is sure that Philippine is ‘really safe’ it is useless to be even talking about the opening of classes. 

While children around the globe are due to return to school at that end-August after classes for more than 25 million primary and secondary students were shut down in March, Philippines president said that for him ‘vaccine first’. Duterte said that if the vaccine is already there then it’s ok to resume classes, however, he added that if there is no vaccine and “if now one graduate, then so be it”. 

Researchers around the globe have launched an unprecedented global effort to quickly develop a vaccine, however, it is not clear when a viable candidate will be proven and distributed on a large scale. Meanwhile, Philippines authorities pushed back the start of schools, which normally runs from June to April. As per reports, in order to ease classroom crowding, the Philippines education ministry had also announced a mix of distancing-learning measures, including online classes, for the coming school year. 

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Coronavirus outbreak in Philippines

Currently, the Philippines has over 14,300 coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 873 lives in the region. Coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 346,000 lives worldwide as of May 26. According to the tally by Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has now spread to 188 countries and regions and has infected more than 5.5 million people. Out of the total infections, more than two million have recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries including Spain, and the economy is struggling. 

(Image: AP)

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