Preventing COVID-19 Clusters, Surabaya Dispendik Holds Simultaneous Swabs In Middle Schools That Hold PTM

SURABAYA - The Surabaya City Government (Pemkot) held periodic RT-PCR swabs simultaneously for public and private junior high schools that carried out Face-to-face Learning (PTM). This RT-PCR Swab examination was carried out for three days from today to 29 October.

The Acting (Plt) Head of the Middle School Head (Sekmen) of the Surabaya City Dispendik, Tri Aji Nugroho, said that the implementation of the RT-PCR Swab for public and private junior high school students followed the recommendations from the Health Office (Dinkes) for the handling and prevention of COVID-19 in the scope of education.

"So in the SOP for the Surabaya Health Office, it is stated that schools that have received PTM's recommendation must do an RT-PCR swab first. To ensure all students and teachers are in good health," said Aji, in Surabaya, Wednesday, October 27.

Aji said that the RT-PCR swab, which was held by the Dispendik and facilitated by the Surabaya Health Office, was part of the precautionary form of the Surabaya City Government (Pemkot) in implementing PTM. His party ensured that if the results of the RT-PCR swab in the school environment were positive, it could not necessarily be called a cluster.

"We ensure that this is a form of early detection. The sooner it is known, the faster it will be handled," said Aji.

Aji continued, after the results of the RT-PCR swab test came out and were declared entirely negative, the Surabaya Dispendik would issue a PTM recommendation letter. Later in the letter of recommendation, it will be mentioned the implementation of PTM with a maximum student limit of 25 percent.

Meanwhile, students who study online do not need to take the RT-PCR swab, because this swab test is only for students who are permitted by their parents to take the PTM. Meanwhile, the teaching and learning system is still the same as the previous PTM.

Aji added, when a teacher teaches PTM in class, the teacher must also teach online. He hoped that this way the teacher would be easier to teach his students.

"The target is 72,003 public and private junior high school students in Surabaya, while the number of junior high schools that have implemented PTM is a total of 115 schools," he said.