Dr. Guido David, a member of the OCTA Research group, sees a connection between the resumption of face-to-face classes with the spike of 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila last August.
"Kung titignan natin kung kailan siya nag-simula na tumaas ulit, connected siya actually doon sa pagsimula ng face-to-face classes," David told DZRH on Sunday, September 18.
David explained that the return of face-to-face classes increased the mobility of the public, and allowed more people to get out of their homes.
The OCTA Research fellow shared that he heard reports that some schools reverted to online learning due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among learners.
He also said that most infected students exhibit mild or no symptoms of the viral disease.
"Sinu-support natin yung pagbabalik ng face-to-face classes pero at the same time yung systems natin sa face-to-face classes, siyempre, sana ay maayos, at kung nagkakaroon ng outbreaks, meron tayong contingency plans," David said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tony Leachon also believes that the resumption of face-to-face classes also contributes to the spike in COVID-19 cases.
"Based on the metrics, nagpro-progress yung ating infection rate. Hindi lang iyon, pati yung sa mga bata ay nag-increase kasi may face-to-face classes tayo," Leachon said during DZRH's Isyung Pambayan.
Leachon, a former adviser for the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said that the reopening of face-to-face classes eased the mobility restrictions to around 30 million to 35 million learners.
