The Indonesian Educators and Teachers Association said all schools across the country should introduce hybrid learning.“ should have been firmer by having all schools apply hybrid learning at least until we see a drop in the number of COVID-19 cases,” P2G national coordinator Satriwan Salim said in a statement.
Schools in Level 4 were barred from staging physical classes, while in-person classes were held for schools in Level 1 and 2. Amid the rising cases, President Joko Widodo expressed his concerns about the health risk amid the rising number of confirmed cases. As of Thursday, only 3.3 million children or 12.6 per cent of the age group have been completely vaccinated, according to Health Ministry figures. Slightly over 10 million children or 40.5 per cent have not received their first vaccination dose.
“Even if the schools comply with proper health protocols, students can still contract COVID-19 on the way to school or inside public transportation. They might carry the virus home and infect other members of their families, including their elderly grandparents who might have comorbidities,” he said.Indonesia reported its first case of Omicron variant on Dec 8. Since then, the number of COVID-19 infections has risen dramatically.
Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan said on Wednesday that he has proposed a tighter activity restriction to the central government, which has the final say on a region’s PPKM status.