The Pontianak city government in West Kalimantan has temporarily\nsuspended in-person learning for kindergarten, early childhood\neducation, primary, and junior high school students due to air quality\naffected by haze from forest and land fires.<\/p>\n
\"Haze has blanketed Pontianak City. Based on monitoring from the\ncity\u2019s air quality measuring device in Southeast Pontianak District, the\nair condition last night from 9 PM to 11 PM Western Indonesian Time was\nin the unhealthy category,\" said Pontianak Mayor Edi Kamtono on Monday\n(10\/7). He explained that the concentration of particulate matter during\nthat period was above 200 micrograms per cubic metre, before dropping to\na moderate category around 8 AM. This condition occurs because smoke\nparticles tend to be heavier and stay near the surface during the night\nand early morning. \"This causes the air quality at night until dawn to\nbe very poor, even declared unhealthy,\" he stated.<\/p>\n
Following up on this condition, the Pontianak City Education and\nCulture Office issued a circular instructing students under the city\ngovernment\u2019s authority not to attend in-person classes. Teaching and\nlearning activities are temporarily being conducted online. The city\ngovernment has not set a definite deadline for the suspension of\nin-person learning. The policy will be adjusted according to\ndevelopments in air quality. \"We are implementing this school closure\nwhile waiting for air quality conditions to improve. If it returns to a\nmoderate category, we will normalise learning activities,\" Edi said.<\/p>\n
However, the city government noted that there are no significant\nsigns of the haze decreasing yet. Therefore, residents, especially\nchildren who are sensitive to smoke exposure, are urged to reduce\noutdoor activities and wear masks if they must go outside. The public is\nalso advised to immediately visit health facilities if they experience\nsymptoms of acute respiratory infection (ISPA). The Pontianak City\nGovernment has also asked the Health Office, hospitals, and community\nhealth centres to prepare oxygen supplies to anticipate a rise in ISPA\ncases.<\/p>\n
\"For now, based on reports from the Health Office, there has been an\nincrease of about five percent. We will later find out more about the\nextent of this condition\u2019s impact on ISPA sufferers,\" he said. The mayor\nhad previously declared a forest and land fire emergency status to\nstrengthen cross-sectoral handling and coordination. Pontianak City is\ncoordinating with the West Kalimantan Provincial Government, the central\ngovernment, the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum, and the private\nsector. \"This is done to strengthen joint handling coordination, both in\nfire prevention and in addressing public health impacts,\" Edi said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pontianak-students-shift-to-online-learning-as-forest-fire-haze-worsens-respiratory-cases-rise-1786416751", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }