Threat of COVID-19 Clusters in Islamic Boarding Schools

Press Release
Threat of COVID-19 Clusters in Islamic Boarding Schools

JAKARTA (25/02) Transmission of COVID-19 has been discovered again in Islamic boarding school environments. Apart from threatening the students, this invisible virus also has the risk of triggering transmission to teachers, the surrounding environment, and even the parents of the students.

Cases of COVID-19 clusters in Islamic boarding schools have occurred several times. In Tasikmalaya, West Java, around 400 students were confirmed positive for COVID-19 in mid-February 2021. Last year, 550 students and teachers at an Islamic boarding school in Kuningan Regency, West Java, were also exposed to COVID-19.

It is possible that the Islamic boarding school cluster will increase. The LaporCovid-19 team noted that up to now there have been 8,291 positive cases of COVID-19 in the Islamic boarding school environment. One case of them died. This data does not cover overall conditions because not all Islamic boarding schools report cases of COVID-19. Positive cases in Islamic boarding schools were higher than in schools, which reached 1,142 people.

This cluster of transmission in Islamic boarding schools also shows the vulnerability of transmission in boarding school education and the difficulty of enforcing health protocols among students. The LaporCovid-19 team collected a number of reports regarding violations of health protocols in the Islamic boarding school environment. For example, many students at an Islamic boarding school in Serang, Banten, neglect to wear masks and keep their distance.

From Subang, face-to-face learning has been running at one of the Islamic boarding schools since January 26 2021 even though many children have fevers and lost their sense of smell. In fact, the Joint Decree of Four Ministers regarding the 2020/2021 learning scheme allows face-to-face learning in Islamic boarding schools with a number of conditions. One of them is the obligation to pay attention to health protocols and coordinate with the local COVID-19 Task Force.

We also received reports from residents who admitted that they had difficulty communicating with their children at the Islamic boarding school. In fact, his son and a number of students were confirmed positive for COVID-19. "The Islamic boarding school seems closed to parents, but instead invites officials to Islamic boarding school activities," said Firdaus Ferdiansyah from LaporCovid-19, Wednesday (24/2/2021).

According to Firdaus, Islamic boarding schools need to report the condition of their students to the students' parents. Likewise with related agencies, such as the health service and the local religious ministry office. Of course, information disclosure is needed so that the outbreak does not spread further. "This is for the safety of students, ustaz/ustazah, kiai, as well as the surrounding community," he said.

He reminded that there is a high risk of transmission of COVID-19 in Islamic boarding schools. Among them, one room can be filled with five to a dozen students, making it difficult to maintain distance. Apart from that, there is also a risk of transmission by using public bathrooms. Not all Islamic boarding schools also have Poskestren (Islamic boarding school health posts) or people responsible for the health sector, making it difficult to control the implementation of health protocols.

Some Islamic boarding schools also do not have basic data on the health of students and teachers, for example, a history of respiratory problems and various other illnesses. In some Islamic boarding schools, parents and families are still found to frequently visit, which can trigger transmission. If a visitor infects a student, other students could potentially be exposed. This is because the intensity of student meetings is quite high, from morning to evening.

Some steps to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in Islamic boarding schools are to eliminate physical meetings between families from outside the Islamic boarding school with students. Parents and families can send food or packages to students without physical contact. All students and teachers follow health protocols, such as wearing masks and maintaining distance.

Islamic boarding schools need to prepare special isolation areas if they find students or teachers suspected of having COVID-19. Islamic boarding schools coordinate with community health centers regarding early detection of COVID19 and periodic health checks. Remember, the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet,
he said.**

Contact:
Firdaus Ferdiansyah
+62 878-3882-2426

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LaporCOVID-19 is a platform for fellow citizens to share information regarding the number of incidents related to COVID-19 around us. A bottom-up approach through citizen reporting or crowdsourcing so that every citizen can participate in conveying information about cases related to COVID-19.