A provincial executive order signed by Negros Oriental Governor Manuel L. Sagarbarria has cleared the way for all public and private schools to reopen on Monday, August 10, 2026 — three days after a province-wide class suspension — while putting in place tighter health safeguards to slow the ongoing spread of conjunctivitis, or sore eyes, across the province.
Governor Sagarbarria signed Executive Order No. 50-A, Series of 2026, as a supplemental directive to his earlier Executive Order No. 50, which had ordered the temporary suspension of classes on August 7, 2026 to give schools the opportunity to carry out thorough cleaning, disinfection, and sanitation of their facilities. The new order formalises the conditions under which schools may safely return to regular operations, according to the executive order itself.
Why Symptomatic Learners and Personnel Must Stay Home
The Integrated Provincial Health Office conducted an assessment of the evolving epidemiologic situation before recommending the additional safeguards contained in the supplemental order. Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Liland Zoila B. Estacion pinpointed the continued attendance of symptomatic learners and school personnel as the primary driver of ongoing transmission within school settings.
Under the executive order, parents and guardians are firmly advised to keep children at home should those children continue to show any of the recognised symptoms of conjunctivitis — among them redness of the eyes, eye discharge, excessive tearing, pain, or irritation. Teaching and non-teaching employees who display the same symptoms are likewise directed not to physically report to their workplaces for the duration of their illness.
Return to school or work is permitted once symptoms have fully resolved, or when the individual has received medical clearance where such clearance is deemed necessary by the attending health provider, the order states.
Responsibilities Placed on School Heads and Teachers
Executive Order No. 50-A assigns specific duties to school heads, teachers, and other school personnel. According to the order, these officials are required to exercise reasonable vigilance in identifying students who appear to be showing signs of conjunctivitis. Upon identifying a symptomatic learner, schools must promptly notify the relevant parent or guardian and advise that the child undergo an appropriate medical assessment or consultation.
Symptomatic students are to be sent home and advised to remain there until they are symptom-free or have been medically cleared to return. The provincial government said these measures are designed to prevent further transmission while permitting the orderly return of face-to-face classes.
School heads carry an additional reporting obligation under the order. Any clustering of conjunctivitis cases, or any unusual increase in the number of cases within a school, must be reported immediately to the relevant Primary Care Facility and to the Integrated Provincial Health Office through established disease surveillance and reporting mechanisms. The executive order specifies that all such reporting must be carried out in compliance with applicable laws on confidentiality, data privacy, and public health reporting.
Infection Prevention Measures to Remain in Place
All educational institutions across Negros Oriental are directed to maintain infection prevention and control measures inside their campuses. These include regular handwashing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, discouraging students and staff from touching or rubbing their eyes, and prohibiting the sharing of towels, handkerchiefs, face towels, eye cosmetics, and other personal items that may serve as vehicles for transmission.
Schools are also required to continue promoting proper hand and respiratory hygiene throughout their premises. Parents and guardians whose children’s symptoms persist, worsen, or become severe are encouraged by the provincial government to seek prompt medical consultation rather than waiting for conditions to improve on their own.
Routine Cleaning and Disinfection Must Continue
Beyond the initial sanitation activities carried out during the August 7 suspension, Executive Order No. 50-A requires all schools to sustain ongoing routine cleaning and disinfection. Classrooms, comfort rooms, school clinics, learning materials, and frequently touched surfaces must be regularly sanitised as a standard operational practice going forward.
The provincial government said that following the completion of the initial round of sanitation activities — the primary purpose of the August 7 suspension — educational institutions are expected to be ready from an environmental standpoint for the return of students and staff on August 10.
Health Authorities and Schools to Coordinate Monitoring
Ongoing surveillance of the conjunctivitis situation will be handled through coordinated monitoring among several agencies. The Integrated Provincial Health Office will work alongside Schools Division Offices, local government units, and school authorities to track the spread of conjunctivitis, provide technical assistance, and recommend further measures should the situation require them, according to the executive order.
Executive Order No. 50-A drew on two key pieces of national legislation as its legal basis: Republic Act No. 7160, known as the Local Government Code, and Republic Act No. 11332, the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. The Integrated Provincial Health Office cited these laws as the framework within which the provincial government is authorised to act.
Governor Sagarbarria’s office emphasised that the cooperation of schools, parents, teachers, local government units, and health officials is essential to containing the spread of conjunctivitis while ensuring that face-to-face classes remain viable across the province.
By the Numbers
- August 7, 2026 — Date on which province-wide class suspension took effect under Executive Order No. 50
- August 10, 2026 — Scheduled date for the resumption of regular weekday classes across all schools
- Executive Order No. 50-A, Series of 2026 — Supplemental order issued by Governor Sagarbarria with reinforced health protocols
- Republic Act No. 7160 — The Local Government Code, cited as a legal basis for the provincial response
- Republic Act No. 11332 — The Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases Act, also cited as a legal basis
Why This Matters
The issuance of two executive orders within days of each other underscores the seriousness with which Negros Oriental health and education authorities are treating the conjunctivitis outbreak. The directive requiring symptomatic learners and school personnel to stay home has immediate consequences for thousands of students and staff in both public and private schools at all grade levels throughout the province. The degree to which schools, parents, and the Integrated Provincial Health Office are able to implement and sustain the protocols under Executive Order No. 50-A will determine whether face-to-face instruction can continue uninterrupted or whether fresh suspensions become unavoidable.
Source: Breaking News Negros Oriental (breakingnewsnegrosoriental.com)
