Half of public school classrooms in Metro Manila will be used as temporary quarantine facilities for COVID-19, Malacanang said Wednesday. Face-to-face classes will not resume until January next year and it will depend on the availability of a vaccine.
The Department of Health and the Department of Education coordinated on the use of classrooms for isolation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said. Thousands of isolation beds are being built as the government ramps up testing, tracing, isolation and treatment.
In Manila, a portion of the Manuel L. Quezon University campus in Quiapo was converted into a quarantine center, the city's 13th and a 14th is being built, at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
The country's students are preparing to reopen the new school year this month with remote learning to comply with physical distancing requirements.