Jakarta's schools taking precautions against SARS<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A number of local schools in Jakarta are taking precautions
\nagainst the possibility of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS) transmission in the classroom following government
\nwarnings about the deadly disease.<\/p>\n
Students at the Ricci Catholic High School on Jl. Kemenangan,
\nWest Jakarta, were told to start wearing protective masks on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
\"We were asked to bring masks to school on Monday. Our
\nteachers said that they would also wear them,\" said a third grade
\nstudent, adding that some kindergarten students in the same
\nschool complex had started wearing masks last weekend.<\/p>\n
For financial reasons, her mother had bought her two masks at
\nRp 2,000 each in a nearby pharmacy instead of the N-95 type
\nrecommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which cost Rp
\n35,000 each.<\/p>\n
Students at the other Ricci Catholic School in Pondok Aren,
\nSouth Jakarta, however, had not yet been asked to wear masks.
\n\"School will go ahead just as normal,\" said Martha, the mother of
\na student.<\/p>\n
The St. Theresia Schools, which includes schools all the way
\nup from kindergarten to high school on Jl. Gereja Theresia,
\nCentral Jakarta, issued a warning letter to parents on Friday
\nregarding the dangers of atypical pneumonia.<\/p>\n
\"The letter informed parents to build up the resistance of
\ntheir children and if a student had a fever, not to send the
\nchild to school,\" one of the parents said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, other schools were carrying on with their normal
\nactivities. Most high school students are now facing preparatory
\ntests for their final examinations, which will be held next
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
The Harapan Ibu Junior High School in Pondok Pinang, South
\nJakarta, SMU 70 State High School in Bulungan, also South
\nJakarta, a Christian high school run by the BPK Penabur
\nassociation, the SMUK V School in Kelapa Gading, and the Tiara
\nBangsa School in Cibubur, East Jakarta, will all be holding
\nclasses as normal, with students not being asked to wear masks so
\nfar.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta health agency had earlier issued a directive on
\nSARS, ordering all hospitals, clinics, hotels, air and sea
\ntransportation operators, as well as schools, to be on the alert
\nfor the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n
\"All school principals and teachers should help inform
\n(students) in the school, especially those who have just returned
\nfrom or are planning to travel to countries suffering from the
\nepidemic, about the transmission of SARS and how to prevent it,\"
\nagency head A. Chalik Masulili said in the directive.<\/p>\n
Most international schools here are operating as usual with
\nthe staff keeping in touch with the medical authorities. Only the
\nSingapore International School (SIS) has been closed following
\nadvice from the Singaporean Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, schools have been shut since March 27 but are
\ndue to reopen in stages over the next two weeks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakartas-schools-taking-precautions-against-sars-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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