Although COVID-19 Cases Slope, Disdikpora Asks Students In Yogyakarta To Keep Wearing Masks At School

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

JAKARTA - The Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) continues to urge students who carry out face-to-face learning (PTM) at school to wear masks.

The DIY Education, Youth and Sports Office (Disdikpora) considers that this effort needs to be carried out even though the case is sloping so that the potential for the spread of COVID-19 can continue to be suppressed.

"At school, the interaction between students is very close. Even though there is an easing, still wear masks," said Deputy Head of Disdikpora DIY Suhirman in Yogyakarta, quoted from Antara, Friday, June 3.

Although President Joko Widodo has allowed to take off masks outside, according to him, students, including teachers, should still wear masks while at school. "Moreover, elementary school students are worried that it will not be controlled," he said.

According to Suhirman, based on reports from five districts/cities, all schools in DIY are still implementing health protocols as usual. "Process is still the main thing," he said.

In addition to the health protocols, he also asked all school canteens that have been opened to only sell packaged food.

"It must be wrapped, there is no switching of food plate, because there is mysterious hepatitis," he said.

100 percent face-to-face learning, he said, in DIY started from 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.

Previously, the DIY Regional Government on Wednesday, June 1, again recorded the addition of 43 new cases of COVID-19 after briefly sloping down to touch zero cases.

The Head of Public Relations of the DIY Regional Government, Ditya Nanaryo Aji, said that of the 43 COVID-19 cases, 40 of them were the result of a search conducted at a school in Bantul.

"As many as 40 cases are the number of continuation of the results of Face-to-Face Learning (PTM) screening and close contacts with previous positive results," he said.