MANILA -- The Commission on Higher Education (Ched) announced Saturday that it is moving the opening of college classes to June 15 as a precautionary measure against swine flu virus.

Emmanuel Angeles, chairman of the Ched, said in a memorandum dated June 5 that the postponement of classes until June 15 will give foreign students who come from countries with swine flu cases time to self quarantine.

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The move came following the discovery of three students at Manila’s De La Salle University (DLSU) who tested positive of influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu infection. Two of the students are Japanese.

“There is no reason for us to panic at this point. We are only doing this for the general safety and protection of our students, and in support of the efforts of the government to contain the spread of the A (H1N1) virus,” said Angeles.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque, meanwhile, said the three DLSU students have been responding well to treatment.

He said health officials are now tracing 120 students who had contact with the three patients.

Duque said the suspension of the opening of classes will not guarantee a school’s safety against the swine flu virus. He said proper hygiene among the students remains the best protection against it.

Rescheduled

At least six higher education institutions in Manila -- St. Paul University (SPU)-Manila, University of Santo Tomas (UST), University of the Philippines (UP)-Manila, Far Eastern University (FEU), University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) -- heeded Ched’s advice and rescheduled the opening of their classes.

SPU-Manila president Wynna Marie Medina said in a statement that classes will resume on June 16.

According to the UST website, its decision to defer its school opening in the college level is a “precautionary measure against influenza A (H1N1) and in order to allow students, support staff, faculty members and administrators who arrived from travel abroad to go on voluntary quarantine.”

It also announced that classes in its elementary and high school departments are suspended and will resume on June 15.

Archbishop Miguel Carpio, vice-president for academic affairs of FEU, said the university is also “taking the necessary preventive measures against the swine flu virus. It also advised its academic community to wash hands as often as possible. The university is opening its classes on June 17.”

The University of the Philippines-Diliman in Quezon City on Saturday said it is also postponing its opening of classes.

Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, vice president for public affairs of UPD, said classes would start on June 16 instead of June 9. It has also extended the enrollment period. As an autonomous entity, the UP System is not covered by the schedule set by the Ched.

In Cebu, Fr. Charlie Orobia OAR, University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) vice president for academics, said that if Ched issues a memo to postpone classes, they have no choice but to follow it.

“If Ched issues an order, then we will abide by it since it’s for the welfare of the students,” said Orobia.

No outbreak

Meanwhile, health and education officials in Central Visayas assured there was no need for college students studying in Cebu and the rest of the region to worry.

Ched Regional Director Dr. Candelario Aytona said there is still no reported outbreak within schools in Central Visayas, and that he is coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) in the region to get the latest information.

Even before the Ched head office’s advice, some colleges and universities in Cebu already decided to begin classes on June 15. They found it impractical to begin classes on June 8, since there won’t be classes anyway on June 12, Independence Day.

However, local health officials agreed with Secretary Duque that there is no clear basis for colleges and universities to postpone classes if there are no confirmed cases of the influenza A (H1N1) virus within their premises.

Dr. Cora Lou Kintanar, DOH-Central Visayas spokesperson, told Sun.Star Cebu that colleges and universities were advised to abide by the School Alert Response Level System before declaring a postponement of classes.

So far, Cebu is still in level 2, which means there are no confirmed cases within school premises, thus no need for alarm.

Kintanar reiterated that only during level 4 of the SARLS -- in which one or two schools in the same area have confirmed cases -- should the DOH declare the postponement of all classes in all schools within the area, whether they have confirmed cases or not.

In a memo sent to all higher education institutions (HEIs) nationwide, Ched also cited inclement weather conditions and the need for parents to prepare for enrolment expenses as two of the other main reasons of the postponement.

Angeles also said the delay in the school opening in the state colleges and universities and private higher educational institutions would allow students, who were highly dependent on the remittances sent by their parents abroad, to catch up in their enrollment.

Flu cases

The DOH has already reported 33 swine flu cases in the country, and all have shown mild symptoms. The Philippines has the most number of swine flu cases in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The disease has spread to 69 countries. A vast majority of the nearly 22,000 cases reported so far have been mild, though 126 people have died as a result of the disease, mostly in Mexico.

In Davao City, three more patients who are under observation for possible influenza A (H1N1) infection were cleared by health authorities Friday.

Davao Medical Center (DMC) chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega said Saturday that a Dutch national, a missionary from Korea, and a 21-year-old female from Thailand all tested negative of the H1N1 virus.

He said as of Saturday, only one patient -- a 31-year-old seaman -- is under observation at the DMC isolation ward.

Another teenager who refused to be admitted at the DMC isolation ward but preferred to go on a self-quarantine is being monitored by health authorities.

No hand holding

Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales has temporarily banned close personal contact among churchgoers to prevent the spread of the swine flu virus.

In his order, Rosales said that for the meantime, communion host would be placed in a person’s hand and not in the mouth. The holding of hands during The Lord’s Prayer is also strictly prohibited. (AP/JAM of Sun.Star Pampanga/BOT of Sun.Star Davao/PNA/JKV of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)