THE ALLIANCE  of Concerned Teachers expressed alarm on the tripling of Covid19 cases among teachers and school personnel, saying that this can be attributed to the lack of protection mechanisms.

The group blamed the Department of Education for the steep rise in cases and accused the agency of ‘cover up’.

It cited the figures presented by Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong who shared DepEd’s report that 2,193 of its employees tested positive for Covid19. It said that the number was 316 percent higher than the 526 cases reportedly in August.

“The rapid spread of infection among our teachers and staff brings alarm and anguish among our ranks. We feel the seriousness of our vulnerability with the lack of health screening and mass testing while we were obliged to report to school for module distribution and other duties,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

Basilio lambasted the Education department’s ‘cover up of the truth,’ noting how Education Secretary Leonor Briones repeatedly tried to point out that not one of the agency’s cases was a result of exposure during module distribution.

“The numbers speak for themselves, madam secretary, infection has tripled since the time more teachers were made to come to school and modules were distributed. Your attempt to hide the truth only makes things worse as you render your own employees blind to the riskiness of their situation,” he said.

Basilio claimed that his group received many reports of schools in Regions 3 and 5, and in the National Capital Region being temporarily locked down because personnel or parents who have gone to school  tested positive for Covid19.

“This after-the-fact steps of locking schools down and putting those exposed in quarantine does not solve the repeated problem of letting the virus enter the school premises in the first place. What we need is to have all our teachers and employees undergo health screening, test the possible patients, and fortify school preventive measures and implementation of minimum health standards,” Basilio asserted.

He lamented that teachers who contracted the coronavirus disease have not been given full support.

“The DepEd does not take on any accountability to its own employees who were infected. They were conveniently referred to local government units and left on their own. They worry about where to isolate themselves, anxious that they will incur salary deductions if they do not get well in 14 days, and support their own treatment costs that are not covered by Philhealth,” Basilio said.

He stressed that teachers should be given health benefits to include sick leave and free medical check up and treatment, as provided by the 1966 Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.