Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School (DCPNHS) resumes its normal operations tomorrow, Monday, after weeks of lockdown, based on an announcement issued by its principal and released through social media.
In a text message, Maurine Castaño, principal of the DCPNHS confirmed the announcement regarding the resumption of operations of the said school, after she agreed to temporarily place the school under lockdown starting Feb. 18, 2021.
It can be remembered that the school was placed under lockdown following the infection of 13 personnel of DCPNHS after allegedly getting exposed to a teacher who tested positive for the Coronavirus disease.
“To date, there are only 14 teachers infected with the virus. The one [teacher] hospitalized [due to Covid] was discharged last Feb. 28. The other 13 [teachers] are on their way to recovery. All of them [the 13] are to complete their 21-day quarantine period,” the principal said in a text message.
In a separate telephone interview, Saturday afternoon, Mar. 6, 2021, City Health Officer Jeia Pondoc said that the 13 teachers will be released from quarantine on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
She added that all of those from the school who tested positive for Covid are asymptomatic.
Pondoc confirmed that the school will be resuming its operations by Monday manned by personnel who either tested negative for Covid or never had any exposure to any person who tested positive for the disease.
NEW MEASURES
As an offshoot of the infection spread in the school, Castaño said the school’s management will be imposing “new measures to further protect our personnel and the general public from the threat of Covid.”
The principal said all persons wishing to enter the school’s premises need to wear face shields in addition to face masks and to observe proper social distancing.
BACKGROUND
The school was placed under lockdown on Feb. 18, 2021 after one of the teachers of the said school tested positive for Covid.
About 13 other teachers were infected with the disease after getting exposed to the index case, according to Castaño.
The principal said that the teacher, who was the identified index case, already showed symptoms of Covid on Feb. 6 and still reported to DCPNHS on Feb. 8 and 9, 2021.
It was believed that the other teachers contracted the virus because they stayed in the same air conditioned faculty room with the index case, the principal said in a radio interview over Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa on Feb. 22, 2021.