A TOTAL of 15 medical students in Davao City tested positive for Covid-19, said City Health Office head Dr. Ashley Lopez on Monday, September 5, 2022.
“Incidentally so far, the 15 students (were) required (to go) under face-to-face community immersions,” Lopez told SunStar Davao in a text message.
According to CHO, the 15 cases were detected based on their latest monitoring of Covid-19 cases.
The patients were all Filipino students in their fourth year of medical school with asymptomatic to mild symptoms of Covid-19.
“These are seemingly asymptomatic to mild cases so they are not required hospitalization. And most of them mag-undergo lang og (will only need to undergo) seven days of isolation in their homes or quarantining, then after that, they can go back to class,” Lopez said.
The CHO head said the cases are not a cause for alarm, adding that F2F classes will not be suspended over the 15 positive cases.
“So far wala man ta’y gina-consider na ingana (So far we are not considering suspension of F2F classes) because although we still have numbers for cases of Covid, dili na man siya grabe (it is not uncontrollable). Ma-manage na man nato’g maayo in case naa’y infections gyud (We can still manage well in case we have infections),” he said.
As of writing, the Commission on Higher Education in Davao Region (Ched-Davao) has not yet released a statement regarding the matter but vaccination is no longer required to participate in F2F classes in higher education institutions after the central office of Ched changed its policy last week, August 29.
Students and teaching and non-teaching personnel may participate in on-site classes and activities inside and outside of their campuses regardless of their immunization status.
Lopez strongly recommends for all Dabawenyos including students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
He said the city government will continue its vaccination campaign in all public and private schools. ICM