NCAA taking “wait and see” approach as new surge of COVID-19 cases stifles plans for opening.
MANILA, Philippines—The NCAA has put a stop to scrimmages within its member-schools as Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 3 due to the recent spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Arellano University’s Peter Cayco said Friday that the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Health issued a joint memorandum circular that guides the NCAA in its actions during the pandemic.
Cayco said that they would only allow scrimmages, and possibly games, once the DOH and CHED agree on a new resolution.
“We are guided by the JMC issued by CHED and DOH,” said Cayco. “Under said JMC, no scrummages, much more games, shall be allowed.”
“We just have to wait and see.”
The NCAA initially planned to start Season 97 in February 2022 with volleyball and basketball tournaments already penciled in for the year.
Metro Manila, however, experienced massive spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases after the holidays.
The DOH logged a total of 21,819 new cases on Friday, 13,643 of which were within Metro Manila.