Why do we reject the government's policy? It is because we look at data that we update daily. That is the reason why we reject it at this moment.Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) of the Makassar chapter does not support the South Sulawesi Provincial Education Office's policy to permit several schools to continue face-to-face learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Classroom learning is not a plausible option at a time when the COVID-19 curve has yet to flatten, Chief of the IDI chapter Dr Siswanto Wahab stated here on Tuesday.
"Why do we reject the government's policy? It is because we look at data that we update daily. That is the reason why we reject it at this moment," Wahab explained.
According to data, the province recorded a positivity rate of 38.16 percent. Four out of every 10 people that underwent swab testing using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) had tested positive for COVID-19, chief of the IDI chapter pointed out.
The positivity rate of COVID-19 cases of over five percent is considered to be quite high and is above the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of five percent, he remarked.
The province's positivity rate of COVID-19 cases, in the range of five to seven, is considered quite high, with the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar being the epicenter of COVID-19 transmission in the province, he stated.
"Hence, the IDI chapter in Makassar is opposed to the classroom learning policy, both gradually and spontaneously. Remember that there are three main points to draw attention to the children's future, specifically the children's rights to live, to be healthy, and to receive education," he noted.
In fact, teachers, much less students, in South Sulawesi have not been registered as recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, he added.
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