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Parents want school to go on despite hepatitis cases
Many parents believe that two years of living with the COVID-19 pandemic have taught their children the importance of health protocols in school.
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Artists work on a health-protocol themed wall of Kemala Bhayangkari 51 Kindergarten in Tangerang, Banten, on Oct. 10, 2021.
(Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
E
arly-childhood education (ECE) remains a top priority for parents with young children, despite the recent outbreak of a poorly known type of hepatitis, as many believe that two years of living with the COVID-19 pandemic have taught their children the importance of health protocols in school.
Twenty-nine-year-old Erni Trisnawati, a private worker, said that the hepatitis outbreak had “piled on more misery” for her and her six-year-old daughter, Kirei, who is soon moving up a grade in her kindergarten in Bekasi regency, West Java.
“Everyone is relieved that COVID-19 continues to decline; but now, we have the hepatitis outbreak. Whereas throughout the pandemic we were afraid for the elderlies, I’m now even more worried, since the hepatitis outbreak targets young children,” Erni said on Wednesday.
Despite her concerns, Erni maintained that Kirei still needs to continue her education in-person, particularly since she had to resort to online learning for a majority of the past two years.
Erni said that the pandemic has accustomed Kirei to refraining from buying food from hawkers outside of her school, due to warnings that some forms of hepatitis spread from unsanitary food.
“I make sure to pack her lunch with homemade food. I have also taught her to always wash her hands, before and after eating, and not to share food with her friends,” Erni added.
For Melly Rosyanti, from South Tangerang, Banten, the mysterious hepatitis outbreak did not deter her from sending her four-year-old son, Clement, to school, particularly since the past few weeks of in-person learning was her son’s first experience of attending classes.
