Amidst concerns about the presence of COVID-19 on Guam, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero met with representatives from the island’s educational institutions to discuss how to move forward.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Guam, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero ordered that all public and private school classes be suspended for two weeks.
On-campus classes at the University of Guam have been canceled until further notice and the Guam Community College will also be closed for the next two weeks. DoDEA schools remain open at this time.
All Guam public schools will be closed for the next two weeks to limit the potential spread of COVID-19 following the announcement of three positive cases over the weekend.
Currently, the Guam Department of Education is working to provide detailed guidance to school staff and faculty on how to proceed.
In a meeting with the governor and representatives from the island’s educational institutions, Janela Carrera, the governor’s director of communications said an issue raised was what would happen at the end of the two weeks.
“Some of the concerns raised were what happens after the 14 days? Because initially, the executive order was for 14 days. The governor let them know that this is an evolving situation and this has always been the case with COVID-19. I think that once we reach the 14-day mark, we’ll reevaluate the situation,” Carrera said.
In the meantime, Guam Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez told K57’s Patti Arroyo that he is working with school administrators on ways to provide lessons to students while they are at home, especially considering that some students do not have internet access or a computer.
“We’ve been working with Joe Sanchez on the curriculum side to continue learning, but it’s going to be a combination of online … maybe paper-based lessons. We’re looking at the possibility – and again, this is dependent on my discussion with the governor and Public Health – that if the issue is congregating large numbers of students, then we were considering somewhere down the line may be introducing a staggered schedule for students to come once a week,” Fernandez said.
He added that GDOE is also trying to continue meal services for its students and hopes to have an operational program by Wednesday.
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