The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Transmission still occurs among various age groups. Elderly and children are groups that are very vulnerable to the transmission of COVID-19. The severity that can occur in this vulnerable group can result in death.
Children are the nation’s shoots and the next generation. What happens if the population of children in Indonesia decreases greatly due to the impact of this pandemic?
The discourse on offline schools has been echoed by the Government of Indonesia since November 2020 with various conditions. Considering the risks that can occur to children and students’ families, are parents ready?
The research team from the Faculty of Public Health, Diponegoro University, chaired by Novia Handayani, SKM, MA, M.Kes and consists of Dr. drs. Syamsulhuda B. Musthofa, M.Kes and Aditya Kusumawati, SKM, M.Kes conducted research on 1,520 parents throughout Central Java in July 2021.
Most parents allow their children to return to school offline (75.66%). However, the permission given to these children is certainly not without reason. More than half of parents have made thorough preparations (64.4%) to support their children’s return to school offline. This readiness includes providing sufficient prevention knowledge support for children and providing mask facilities, hand sanitizers and others.
This research is expected to be able to become a consideration for offline school regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic to cut the chain of the transmission of COVID-19, especially to children.
Further reviews can be accessed at the following link: https://www.bio-conferences.org/articles/bioconf/abs/2022/13/bioconf_icophtcd2022_00002/bioconf_icophtcd2022_00002.html
Contributors: Novia Handayani, SKM, MA, M.Kes