Negros Oriental governor suspends classes in public schools amid novel coronavirus scare

Classes in all levels in public schools in Negros Oriental were suspended from February 5 to February 7 by Governor Roel Degamo as a precautionary measure against the novel coronavirus.

Private schools were given the discretion to suspend their classes, and Silliman University in Dumaguete City conducted classes from preschool to senior high school online.

The suspension, which was extended to all schools starting Monday, February 10, was ordered considering the end of the two-week incubation period for those who had contact with the first confirmed coronavirus cases in the Philippines.

The first confirmed cases were a Chinese couple from Wuhan, China; one of them, a 44-year-old man, died due to severe pneumonia, marking the first confirmed nCoV ARD-related death outside China.

Four out of eight persons under investigation (PUIs) for nCoV ARD in the province have tested negative in swab tests.

Health authorities had previously placed five individuals with flu-like symptoms who had contact with the confirmed cases under quarantine and monitored another 25 individuals.