IDAI Recommends 100% Cancellation Of PTM If Omicron Spreads, DKI Provincial Government Agrees

Officers at SMPN 1 Kudus, Central Java, spraying disinfectant on a number of student tables and seats after school (Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif/Antara)

JAKARTA - Face-to-face learning (PTM) with 100 percent student capacity in class has taken place in Jakarta. At the same time, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus began to spread.

The Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) recommends the government cancel the implementation of 100 percent PTM if it is found that there is a spread of Omicron variants in schools.

In response to this, the Head of Public Relations of the DKI Education Office, Taga Radja Gah, admitted that he agreed with the recommendation. This is because school closures have been carried out when COVID-19 cases were found in limited PTMs before.

"This has also happened in PTMs before. When we held PTM, then the conditions were dangerous, the movement of the epidemic was very massive, the movement of new clusters, the Governor immediately closed. So, if that is the case, yes, I agree with IDAI that if there is something dangerous," Taga told reporters on Tuesday, January 4.

On that occasion, Taga explained the reason the government decided to implement 100 percent PTM at this time.

By taking advantage of the fairly controlled pandemic conditions, even though the Omicron variant has been detected, Taga said it was time for all students to receive teaching materials face-to-face. This is because distance learning online has proven to be difficult for students to understand the lesson.

"Still, we have no intention of endangering the community. In fact, we are in the middle of unrest, right. If we don't implement 100 percent PTM immediately, how long will the lost learning last?" he said.

Then, if there are still people, especially parents of students who are still worried about the transmission of COVID-19, they can ask for distance learning.

"We take the middle. If someone is worried, the community may come to school, tell them they want distance learning. So, it's not a problem," said Taga.

Previously, IDAI released the latest recommendations regarding PTM in schools. This recommendation was made taking into account several things, including based on previous experience, after every holiday, COVID-19 cases will increase not only in adults but also in children.

In addition, Omicron variants have been found in Indonesia, plus data in other countries such as the United States, European countries, and Africa regarding the increase in COVID-19 cases in children. In recent weeks, most of the cases of sick children were children who had not received COVID-19 immunizations.

One of IDAI's recommendations is that face-to-face learning can be carried out 100 percent in the following conditions: There is no increase in COVID-19 cases in the area, There is no local transmission of Omicron in the area.

Then, face-to-face learning can be carried out using a hybrid method (50 percent offline, 50 percent online) if COVID-19 cases are found but the positivity rate is below 8 percent. Then, Omicron local transmission was found that can still be controlled.