All Schools In Yogyakarta Forbidden To Operate Canteens To Anticipate Acute Hepatitis

Illustration of school children in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Between)

DIY - All school canteens in five regencies/cities in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) are temporarily prohibited from operating.

The regulation was issued by the Education, Youth and Sports Office (Disdikpora) of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) to prevent the transmission of mysterious acute hepatitis among students.

"We have not allowed the canteen to be opened yet," said Deputy Head of Disdikpora DIY Suhirman in Yogyakarta, Friday, May 13.

He appealed to all schools in DIY to remind parents to bring food and drinks from home to children during face-to-face learning (PTM) at school.

"Use your lunch first and you don't have to gather together in enjoying your lunch," he said.

According to Suhirman, although all schools in DIY have implemented PTM in full or 100 percent, so far there have been no reports of the emergence of COVID-19 transmission or mysterious acute hepatitis in schools.

100 percent face-to-face learning, he said, had started in DIY since the end of the 2022 Eid holiday, as daily cases of COVID-19 decreased and all schools were prepared.

However, considering that it is still in the pandemic period, Suhirman ensures that the duration of offline learning remains limited.

All educational institutions are also still asked to apply health protocols in a disciplined manner, especially regarding the use of masks, providing body temperature measuring devices, and activating the PeduliLindung application.

"School assignments are still online because it hasn't been a full day. If normally it's half past two in the afternoon, now it's still 11:30 or 12.00 WIB," he said.

To prevent the potential for transmission of acute hepatitis and COVID-19, according to him, booster vaccination or a third dose for students and teachers will be intensified again.

Until now, he estimates that the coverage of booster vaccination for students, especially SMA/SMK in DIY is still 10 percent, while the second dose of vaccination has reached around 97 percent.

"The 'booster' vaccination should continue so that later the body's resistance of each education actor, both teachers, students, then TU will remain resistant to hepatitis," he said.

Previously, the Head of the DIY Health Office, Pembajun Setyaningastutie, said that until May 9, 2022, he had not received any reports of mysterious cases of acute hepatitis in the DIY region.

Although there have been no reports, the DIY Health Office and related agencies are still seeking early detection to find symptoms of mysterious hepatitis in children by intensifying communication with parents, especially mothers.

According to Pembajun, hepatitis that has hit a number of countries can be prevented by implementing clean and healthy lifestyles (PHBS).