The Philippines on Monday tallied 1,574 new COVID-19 cases as hundreds of students returned to limited face-to-face classes after nearly two years of remote learning.
The day's tally brought active cases to 27,025. There were 2,601 new recoveries and 128 new deaths, the Department of Health said.
Overall, a total of 2,818,511 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the pandemic began in March 2020, of which 2,745,777 have recovered and 45,709 died.
Plastic barriers, social distancing markers, and temperature scanners greeted students and teachers in 100 schools nationwide at the start of the limited face-to-face classes.
Pilot face-to-face classes will continue through December and will resume in January after the Christmas break until Jan. 31, 2022. Assessment of the initial run will take place from Nov. 15 to Dec. 22 as the classes are ongoing, according to the Department of Education.
The DepEd will then evaluate the pilot study and present its report to President Rodrigo Duterte in February. If all goes well, face-to-face classes may be expanded to other areas starting March 7 next year.
Alert level-based quarantine classifications will take effect in phases nationwide. The five-step system was piloted in Metro Manila last September and allows for broader economy to operate via granular lockdowns.
Malacañang late Saturday released the alert-based quarantine classifications nationwide to be implemented until Nov. 30.
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