Preventing COVID-19 Transmission, KPAI Instead Pushes School Canteens To Open

Illustration/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) encourages school canteens to be re-opened with a note that they meet the criteria for a healthy canteen.

"At the time of supervision from January to June 2022, no school canteen was opened yet. The reason for the school is to consider the safety of children from the potential for transmission. Although many of the children interviewed admitted that they did not have time to have breakfast and brought lunch from home,” said KPAI Commissioner, Retno Listyarti in Jakarta, Thursday, July 14.

KPAI encourages the opening of school canteens with the requirement to meet the seven criteria for a healthy canteen, this is important to be reminded after a number of regions have implemented 100 percent Face-to-face Learning (PTM) with study hours returning to normal as before the pandemic.

"In fact, currently it is still a pandemic, even cases are increasing and there is acute hepatitis that is spreading in a number of countries. KPAI encourages all parties to ensure that school canteens are clean and healthy in order to protect children from the transmission of COVID-19 and acute hepatitis," she said.

In addition, ensuring the cleanliness and safety of the school canteen is easier than managing traders outside the school fence.

Sellers in school canteens, she said, could be given knowledge, and understanding and could be reprimanded or sanctioned if they violated the provisions set by the school.

"KPAI also encourages Health Offices throughout Indonesia to disseminate clean and healthy canteens to educators and students," she said.

The criteria for a healthy canteen include the availability of a washing place, a place for washing hands with clean running water, a clean water reservoir, a food storage area, a place to store cooked food, a place to store eating and drinking utensils, such as a closed cupboard or box, and the distance between the canteen and the temporary waste disposal site (TPS) is at least 20 meters.