President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Has expressed high hopes for a successful resumption of face-to-face classes before August ends saying it will boost economic recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Marcos, in his weekly vlog uploaded recently, urged local government units (LGUs) anew to further accelerate their anti-Covid 19 inoculation and booster drive to ensure the safety of Filipinos, particularly young learners, when school classes opens later this month.
Government data show that some 15.9 million Filipinos have received their first Covid-19 booster doses while over 1.2 million have received their second booster shots.
The President noted Marcos that the government remains short of its 23 million targeted Covid-19 booster shots within his first 100 days in office. “ We e will not get tired of asking our LGUs to be more aggressive in this campaign,” he said.
The Chief Executive admitted it’s not easy convincing more Filipinos to get vaccinated against Covid-19 jabs and the needed booster shots but stressed it is crucial for the country.
Marcos said the resumption of face-to-face classes will help revive economic activities in establishments around schools like retail stores and in public transport. He said parents will also have the opportunity to go back to work while their children are in school.
“If the face-to-face classes resumption is successful, it will also mean the resumption of businesses, livelihood, and economic development. This would be a huge help to our efforts to reopen the economy,” he stressed.
Marcos reminded the public, however, to continue enforcing minimum public health standards to preempt contamination. He said a lot of businesses “will take part and benefit from this step so we need to make sure that everyone is ready,” he added.