The Education Office of North Sumatra has halted offline or face-to-face learning at 10 schools due to the emergence of COVID-19 cases among students and teachers.

The schools that have temporarily suspended face-to-face learning have been asked to implement remote learning, acting head of the office, Lasro Marbun, informed here on Tuesday.

“A total of 10 state high schools and vocational schools have been suspended from implementing face-to-face learning because (some) students and teachers have been exposed to COVID-19,” he said.

The ten schools are spread in six districts and cities—Medan, Dairi, Karo, Central Tapanuli, Toba, and Deli Serdang, Marbun informed.

Meanwhile, speaking about COVID-19 handling in the province, member of the North Sumatra COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Dr. Restuti Saragih, said that if in the next two weeks the spread of infections remains uncontrolled, the government will consider carrying out blocking to reduce public mobility.

She then appealed to the community to keep complying with the health protocols and get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“For those who have been vaccinated twice, let’s partake in booster vaccination,” she said.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 14, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 4,844,279 COVID-19 cases, 4,323,101 recoveries, and 145,321 deaths.

Meanwhile, as of February 14, 2022, North Sumatra has recorded 112,792 COVID-19 cases, 104,071 recoveries, and 2,909 deaths.

Recently, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) allowed regions with Level 1 and Level 2 public activity restrictions (PPKM) to adjust the implementation of face-to-face learning in line with the COVID-19 situation. The step was taken in response to a nationwide increase in COVID-19 cases.

Source: Antara News