MANILA: The Philippines on Saturday (Aug 15) reported 4,351 new coronavirus cases and 159 additional fatalities, ahead of a decision by President Rodrigo Duterte on whether he will extend or ease strict quarantine measures for certain areas in the country.
The latest cases take the country's total COVID-19 cases to 157,918, and 2,600 deaths.
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Duterte is set to announce on Monday his decision whether to extend or ease strict quarantine measures that were reinstated in and around the capital Manila in mid-August to stem the rise in new cases.
The Philippines delayed on Friday the start of the school year by another six weeks to October.
Schools across the archipelago have been shut since mid-March when Duterte's government imposed a months-long lockdown in a bid to slow the fast-spreading contagion.
The academic year usually starts in June but was pushed back to Aug 24.
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It is now scheduled to begin on Oct 5, the education department said, blaming the latest lockdown in the capital Manila and four surrounding provinces for "logistical limitations" in preparing for remote schooling.
Authorities have largely ruled out face-to-face classes for the rest of 2020 after Duterte said students would have to stay home until a virus vaccine was available.
READ: Philippines bans chicken imports from Brazil over COVID-19 scare
The Philippines is due to start large-scale human testing of a Russian vaccine in October with regulatory approval of the drug expected in April, according to the government's timeline released Thursday.
In the meantime, more than 20 million students enrolled for the new school year will do "blended learning" that involves a mix of online, television and radio classes.
But preparations have been plagued by problems and there are concerns that many children from poor families with no or limited internet access will be disadvantaged.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones urged parents to use online modules provided by the government to home-school their children during the extended break.
"It is to your advantage if you already start teaching your own children," Briones said.
"We will be more than ready by October."
But there was uproar on social media this week after some of the modules were found to be littered with grammar errors.
The education department blamed an encoding glitch.
<a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/as<a href=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/philippines-4351-covid19-cases-159-deaths-duterte-quarantine-13023932>Read More – Source</a></p>_
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MANILA: The Philippines on Saturday (Aug 15) reported 4,351 new coronavirus cases and 159 additional fatalities, ahead of a decision by President Rodrigo Duterte on whether he will extend or ease strict quarantine measures for certain areas in the country.
The latest cases take the country's total COVID-19 cases to 157,918, and 2,600 deaths.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Duterte is set to announce on Monday his decision whether to extend or ease strict quarantine measures that were reinstated in and around the capital Manila in mid-August to stem the rise in new cases.
The Philippines delayed on Friday the start of the school year by another six weeks to October.
Schools across the archipelago have been shut since mid-March when Duterte's government imposed a months-long lockdown in a bid to slow the fast-spreading contagion.
The academic year usually starts in June but was pushed back to Aug 24.
Advertisement
Advertisement
It is now scheduled to begin on Oct 5, the education department said, blaming the latest lockdown in the capital Manila and four surrounding provinces for "logistical limitations" in preparing for remote schooling.
Authorities have largely ruled out face-to-face classes for the rest of 2020 after Duterte said students would have to stay home until a virus vaccine was available.
READ: Philippines bans chicken imports from Brazil over COVID-19 scare
The Philippines is due to start large-scale human testing of a Russian vaccine in October with regulatory approval of the drug expected in April, according to the government's timeline released Thursday.
In the meantime, more than 20 million students enrolled for the new school year will do "blended learning" that involves a mix of online, television and radio classes.
But preparations have been plagued by problems and there are concerns that many children from poor families with no or limited internet access will be disadvantaged.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones urged parents to use online modules provided by the government to home-school their children during the extended break.
"It is to your advantage if you already start teaching your own children," Briones said.
"We will be more than ready by October."
But there was uproar on social media this week after some of the modules were found to be littered with grammar errors.
The education department blamed an encoding glitch.
<a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/as<a href=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/philippines-4351-covid19-cases-159-deaths-duterte-quarantine-13023932>Read More – Source</a></p>_
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channel news asia
