Red tide warning lifted
THE BUREAU of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the red tide warning for Inner Malampaya Sound in Palawan, Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar and San Pedro Bay in Western Samar.
Consumers may now eat shellfish from these areas, the agency said in a bulletin on Wednesday.
The red tide warning stays for Bataan province, particularly the areas of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Hermosa, Orani, Abucay, and Samal; Honda and Puerto Princesa bays in Palawan; Milagros in Masbate; Sorsogon Bay in Sorsogon; Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol; and Tambobo Bay in Negros Oriental. Also affected by red tide are Daram Island, Zumarraga, Cambatutay, Irong-irong, Maqueda, and Villareal Bays in Western Samar; Calubian, Cancabato Bay and Carigara Bay in Leyte; Biliran Island; Guiuan in Eastern Samar; Balite Bay in Davao Oriental; and Lianga Bay and Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur.
All types of shellfish and acetes or alamang from these areas are not safe for human consumption, BFAR said. Other marine species may be eaten as long as these are properly handled and prepared. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
NCR barred from pilot classes
SCHOOLS in the National Capital Region (NCR) won’t take part in the pilot run for face-to-face classes in January since it is still under a general lockdown, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).
Schools nominated to the pilot test should at least be in areas under a modified general community quarantine, Malcolm S. Garma, director of the agency in the National Capital Region, told an online news briefing on Wednesday.
More than a thousand out of 61,000 schools in the country have been nominated to take part in the pilot run, Education Secretary Leonor Briones told the same briefing.
“It’s not mandatory,” she said in Filipino. “It’s going to be voluntary, with the consent of parents.”
Ms. Briones said parents’ reactions to the plan were mixed. She said the government would ensure that students and teachers who will volunteer in the program would be safe.
The face-to-face classes will run from Jan. 11 to 23. President Rodrigo R. Duterte in June said he would not allow physical classes in the absence of a coronavirus vaccine. — Gillian M. Cortez