Nagpahayag ng pagkabahala si ACT Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro sa bilang ng mga guro at kaanak nito na napaulat na nakararanas ng sintomas ng COVID-19.
Ayon sa survey na ginawa ng Alliance of Concerned Teachers-NCR Union, lumabas na higit sa 55.3 percent ng mga teacher-respondents ang nakararanas ng flu-like symptoms.
Tinanong din sa nasabing survey na kung nagtatrabaho pa rin ang mga ito sa kabila ng mga nararanasang sintomas at 84.7 percent ang nasabing pumapasok sila.
76.2 percent naman ang nagsabing wala silang natatanggap na tulong o suporta.
“These are very alarming numbers. What is the Department of Education doing to support our teachers during this time when many of their employees are sick? Do they even know the extent of the COVID-19 positive cases among DepEd employees?” Tanong ni Rep. Castro.
Nananawagan din ang mga ito ng health break lalo na sa mga guro na nasa ilalim ng Alert Level 3.
“Teachers, especially in areas under alert level 3 are calling for a health break from the Department of Education so that they can focus on their health and the health of their families as we experience the worst surge of COVID-19. With this demand, teachers are also cautioning the DepEd not to give them webinars to attend during this health break so that they can really focus on taking care of themselves and their families,” sabi ni Castro.
Iginiit pa ng mambabatas na patuloy ang mga guro na itaguyod ang pagpapatuloy ng edukasyon sa panahon ng pandemya kahit pa kulang ang suporta ng pamahalaan.
“Nakakabahala na sa panahon ng pandemya, ang mga teachers na natin ang nagtaguyod sa pagpapatuloy ng edukasyon sa kabila ng kakulangan sa suportang ibinibigay ang gobyerno at ngayong sila naman ang nangangailangan ng kaunting pahinga at ayuda dahil libo-libo na rin sa kanila ang nagkakasakit, wala pa rin silang nakukuhang tulong mula sa ating administrasyon.”
Sa huli, ipinunto ni Castro ang panawagan nila sa DepEd na ipatupad ang health break at pag-monitor sa kalusugan ng mga guro.
“We reiterate our call for the Department of Education to implement a much needed health break for areas under alert level 3. We also call on the DepEd to ensure adequate health monitoring of our teachers. As the country continues to experience the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to call for the need for the government to conduct free mass testing, have adequate contact tracing, ensure there are sufficient and accessible facilities and medical supplies for affected individuals and families and aid for the most affected Filipino families amid this COVID surge.” DZUP