Anticipating The Fast Spread Of Omicron, NTB Hasn't Implemented PTM For High School/Vocational Students In Full

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

MATARAM - The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Education and Culture Office has not fully implemented face-to-face learning activities (PTM) for high school, vocational and special school students to anticipate the spread of COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant.

Head of the NTB Education and Culture Office, Aidy Furqan, said that so far his party was still conducting PTM simulations in all SMA/SMK and SLB.

"We will carry out this simulation from January 3 to January 30," he said, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 3.

He said the PTM simulation was carried out in stages. This is done to better familiarize students with implementing the COVID-19 health protocol, as a measure to anticipate the spread of the Omicron variant.

"This simulation will be evaluated later to determine whether NTB can fully implement PTM. This evaluation is also carried out for student vaccinations," he said.

Aidy Furqan explained, based on data the number of students who had been vaccinated for the first phase in NTB reached 77-80 percent.

"Out of 10 regencies and cities in NTB, Mataram City has the highest vaccination percentage," he said.

Vaccination for elementary school children or ages 6-12 is left entirely to the district and city education offices because of their authority.

"The authority for elementary school students is handed over to districts and cities, but in coordination it remains with the provinces," he said.

According to him, vaccination for SMA/SMK/SLB and SD students in NTB is targeted to be completed by January 2022.

"The availability of vaccines for children has been fulfilled. We (the office, ed) together with the health office have also issued a circular on vaccinations for children," he said.

Based on data in 2021, there were seven cases of students in NTB who were exposed to COVID-19, but the cause was not found through the school cluster, but from the family and travel cluster. The students who were exposed were in Mataram City, Bima City, Bima and Selong Regencies, East Lombok.

"The students who were exposed to COVID-19 after being traced did not transmit it to other people," he said.