DUE TO Covid-19 pandemic, Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco said children should not be allowed in shopping malls and even face-to-face classes as proposed by the Department of Education (DepEd) puts them at greater risk of infection.
Climaco also cited the findings of health experts that children have higher viral load and may have the ability to be super spreaders of the deadly Covid-19 which affects the respiratory system.
According to The Harvard Gazette, in the most comprehensive study of Covid-19 pediatric patients to date, researchers provide critical data showing that children play a larger role in the community spread of the virus than previously thought.
The study, “Pediatric SARS-CoV-2: Clinical Presentation, Infectivity, and Immune Reponses,” was published in The Journal of Pediatrics. It said transmissibility or risk of contagion is greater with a high viral load. And even when children exhibit symptoms typical of Covid-19, like fever, runny nose and cough, they often overlap with common childhood illnesses, including influenza and the common cold.
“Hinde pa gayot bien safe manda sale con el maga bata except for medical reasons or emergency cases,” Climaco said.
City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Miravite strongly supported the mayor’s stand, stressing that children should stay at home and not allowed to go to malls to ensure low risk of getting them infected and low risk of transmission of Covid-19.
Both Climaco and Miravite said it is not safe for children or students to attend face-to-face classes and suggested that DepEp continue using the blended modular learning scheme given the prevailing health situation here.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases recently announced that minors may go out if accompanied by their parents and they can go to malls, however, this is upon the discretion of the local government.
But the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) clarified that there is no final decision yet on allowing minors to visit malls.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said since
no final decision has been adopted, the old regulations remain where minors are
required to stay at home. “As much as possible, we should limit the number of
people going out, especially the elderly and minors,” he said. (Zamboanga Post)
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