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DepEd, DOH urged: Issue 'clearer' ventilation guidelines, use 'Safe Schools Calculator'

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Jaehwa Bernardo and Arra Perez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Students attend their class at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City on the first day of face-to-face classes in all levels, Aug. 22, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/20220822-school-opening-payatas-md-12.jpg"/><figcaption>Students attend their class at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City on the first day of face-to-face classes in all levels, Aug. 22, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Advocates on Monday urged the education and health departments to issue detailed guidelines on ventilation and adopt a tool that could measure the risk of COVID-19 infections in classrooms.The advocates under the Aral Pilipinas Coalition made the call a little over a week before public schools are set to resume in-person classes at full capacity, and following the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/18/22/philippines-detects-xbb-subvariant-xbc-variant">detection</a> of the immune-evasive COVID-19 variant XBC and subvariant XBB in the country.&quot;Ang Aral Pilipinas Coalition ay nananawgan sa Department of Education at Department of Health na maglabas ng malinaw na polisiya na magagamit ng mga magulang, mga guro upang protektahan ng mga bata,&quot; Aral Pilipinas co-convenor Abbey Pangilinan said in an online press conference.(The Aral Pilipinas Coalition is calling on the Department of Education and the Department of Health to come up with a clear policy that can be used by parents and teachers to protect the children.)Pangilinan noted that the DepEd issued Order (DO) No. 39, which provides health and safety protocols for schools implementing in-person classes.&quot;[Pero] nakita natin na mayroon pa ring pangangailangan para sa mas malinaw na polisiya na specific to ventilation para ang mga guro at principal ay mas magiging equipped na ma-implement ito sa kani-kanilang paaralan,&quot; she said.(But we saw that there&#x27;s still a need for clearer policies, specific to ventilation, so teachers or principals could become more equipped to implement them in their respective schools.)DO No. 39 mandates schools to &quot;ensure adequate ventilation in enclosed and shared spaces,&quot; which can be done by opening windows and doors, using exhaust fans, and placing fans near windows.<div>SAFE SCHOOLS CALCULATOR </div>Aral Pilipinas also pushed for the use of the &quot;Safe Schools Calculator,&quot; developed in collaboration with Joshua Agar, a wind engineer and professor at the University of the Philippines.The <a href="https://bit.ly/SafeSchoolCalculator">tool</a> can compute data on carbon dioxide (CO2) levels inside classrooms to help determine if it is poorly or well-ventilated. It also provides data on the probability of COVID-19 infection and reproduction number or how many people can get infected if one person is positive for the virus.The Department of Health said CO2 levels in schools should be at or below 1,000 parts per million. &quot;Tutulong ito (Safe Schools Calculator) para hindi maging one-size-fits-all &#x27;yong mga polisiya ng national government,&quot; said Georgina Hernandez, executive director of Galing Pook Foundation, one of the groups that are part of Aral Pilipinas.(This Safe Schools Calculator helps so the policy from the national government will not be a one-size-fits-all rule.)Pangilinan added that the tool also considers class size, which can help address congestion.&quot;The calculator gives that interface na kapag pinasok &#x27;yong number of students... makikita agad kung high risk na agad or poorly ventilated &#x27;yong classroom,&quot; she explained.(The calculator gives that interface, when you enter the number of students... we can immediately see if a classroom is high risk or poorly ventilated.)&quot;So this actually responds to the challenge also of making sure na tama &#x27;yong bilang ng students and kung madami or overcrowded &#x27;yong classroom then makakapag-isip ngayon &#x27;yong principal or teacher kung dapat bang magdagdag ng shift,&quot; she said.(So this actually responds to the challenge of also making sure that we have the correct number of students. If it&#x27;s overcrowded, then the teacher or principal can think about adding another class shift.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/22/22/cramped-classrooms-seen-on-1st-day-of-in-person-classes">&#x27;Cramped&#x27; classrooms seen on 1st day of in-person classes</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/29/22/shifting-ipinatutupad-sa-mga-eskuwelahan-dahil-sa-kakulangan-ng-classroom">Shifting ipinatutupad sa mga eskuwelahan dahil sa kakulangan ng classroom</a></li></ul>Aral Pilipinas has presented the Safe Schools Calculator to the DepEd and is awaiting feedback from the agency.Public health expert Tony Leachon, meanwhile, said schools should also strictly implement the wearing of face masks and ensure adequate sanitation and handwashing stations.He also urged parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19 &quot;at the soonest time possible.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/19/22/deped-policy-on-face-to-face-classes-stays-despite-xbb-xbc-cases">DepEd: Policy on face-to-face classes stays despite new COVID variant</a></li></ul>The DepEd has yet to respond to ABS-CBN News&#x27; request for comment on the matter.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6gilZ5LU2KQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Advocates urged the government to issue detailed ventilation guidelines and adopt a tool that can measure the risk of COVID-19 infections in schools.

DepEd, DOH urged: Issue 'clearer' ventilation guidelines, use 'Safe Schools Calculator'

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DepEd, DOH urged: Issue 'clearer' ventilation guidelines, use 'Safe Schools Calculator'

Jaehwa Bernardo and Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 24, 2022 02:48 PM PHT

Read More:

education

basic education

health

Aral Pilipinas

Department of Health

Department of Education

ventilation

COVID-19

coronavirus

COVID-19 schools

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