Students wear face masks in a school in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City on February 3, 2020 as two cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were confirmed in the country. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Sen. Sonny Angara is pushing for the inclusion of pandemics, epidemics and other health crises in primary and secondary subjects to help people "behave properly whenever there is a health emergency."
Under Senate Bill No. 1674 that he filed, the Department of Education (DepEd) is mandated to coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in crafting lessons that will be age and level-appropriate.
"By educating our students on the good health behavior such as covering coughs and sneezes, proper handwashing and social distancing, this will help ensure that such behavior is ingrained in each individual," Angara, a COVID-19 survivor, said in a statement Sunday.
"If all members of society exhibit the proper health behavior whenever there is a pandemic such as COVID-19, this will allow the government to control the spread of the disease more effectively and help ease the burden that such health crises pose on the medical and health facilities and its workers," he said.
Angara's proposal comes as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in the Philippines despite quarantine measures imposed since March.
About a month before the expected opening of classes, the Philippines has logged 67,456 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 22,465 patients have recovered, 1,831 died, while the rest are still recuperating from the disease.
Sonny Angara, health, education, pandemic, epidemic, COVID-19, coronavirus, coronavirus disease 2019