Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The Pekanbaru administration has mobilized some paramedics who are on standby for 24 hours to help infants currently evacuated to the Pekanbaru municipality offices hall to protect them from the haze caused by forest fires.

"Since Wednesday, the hall has accommodated infants and their mothers," Head of the Pekanbaru health office Helda S. Munir noted here, Thursday.

The infant evacuation command post set up by the municipality is run by a doctor and two nurses, among others, in each shift.

An outpatient clinic has also been opened in the hall to treat those affected by the haze.

Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus has issued an order to evacuate infants under six months of age in 12 sub-districts badly affected by haze arising from the forest fires.

The local authorities coordinate the evacuation of infants below six months of age from underprivileged families, he stated.

They are being evacuated to a city hall that has been transformed into a makeshift nursery and has been equipped with baby boxes, air conditioners, and a health clinic. The local authorities will also provide milk to the infants.

The evacuation has been deemed necessary as Pekanbarus air pollution index has reached a hazardous level over the past week.

"At present, the air pollution index in Pekanbaru has reached one thousand psi, which is categorized as hazardous," he remarked.

Poor families usually do not have good facilities for infants, thus the air quality inside their homes is similar to that outside, he noted.

"Therefore, we are trying to provide facilities, including good air conditioning, so that the infants, the countrys next generation, can breathe clean air," he affirmed.

The evacuation process is carried out by personnel of the local disaster mitigation office (BPBD), health office, community health centers, and village heads.

"The infants will stay at the city hall as long as the air quality is bad," the mayor noted.

The evacuation process is still ongoing. On the first day, the team evacuated a four-month-old infant and a two-year-old child belonging to a family.

"The family does not have the facility to blow away the haze from their house. The air inside and outside the house is the same," Mayor Firdaus stated.

The evacuation of infants is currently the priority, as the municipality does not have adequate funds to help pregnant women and elderly people, according to the mayor.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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