The Department of Education (DepEd) XI expressed its support for the cancellation of the events for the 83rd Araw ng Dabaw celebration.
“We laud the mayor for really deciding to forgo with all of these Araw ng Dabaw activities because (it) … will be for the protection of everybody,” DepEd XI spokesperson Jenielito Atillo told TIMES on Tuesday.
He said the mayor’s decision has “somehow taken away the worries of everyone concerned especially the school authorities.”
“We would rather be on guard and we would rather have all this postponed than face the problem later. We should be proactive, not reactive,” Atillo added.
He also said the department already cancelled some of its events that require massive gatherings to avoid compromising the health of the children.
Project Shield
The DepEd in the region is continuously conducting monitoring and inspections everyday in all schools
to properly respond to the threat of spread of novel corona (Covid-19) virus.
Atillo said the monitoring is “more of a local action mobilizing health personnel to roam around, including doctors and nurses.”
DepEd XI regional director Evelyn R. Fetalvero issued on Jan. 27 a memorandum institutionalizing Project Shield in all 11 schools-division offices in the region.
Shield, which stands for Strategic Health Intervention to Emerging Health Threats thru Information Education Campaigns for Learners and Educators in Davao Region, mandates the creation of a task force at the division and district levels to monitor and handle students exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
“The initiative as per the instruction of the director, is to create teams up to the school level, all the way up, wherein if ever there is something which will be immediately considered as a concern, proper information will be relayed to proper channels,” he Atillo said.
Inspection
The DepEd spokesperson said ther inspection and monitoring comes in three ways: (1) from the school authorities, who has direct and first-hand interaction with the students; (2) district offices, where schools are under a particular district supervisor, will be assisted by a medical team and will roam around to inspect the school; (3) regional office, which handles all the extensive monitoring of all schools all over the region.
