(Eagle News) — Classes in CALABARZON are suspended from January 17 to 29.
The Department of Education-Region IV-A, which covers Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, said the suspension that applies to all grade levels–whether attending classes physically or virtually–was the region’s “initiative for safe operations and well-being of stakeholders.”
Mayor Jun Ynares of Antipolo, a part of Rizal, said in a Facebook post that in the city, the suspension applies to all levels in public and private schools.
The Philippines is at a “critical risk” for COVID-19, the Department of Health has said.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told President Rodrigo Duterte the surge was due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant but the Philippine Genome Center has said it needed to analyze more samples to verify the claim.
Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire later attributed the surge to the transmissible Delta variant, which she said at that time accounted for over 40% of the country’s COVID-19 cases.