The Jakarta Post
Trip to nowhere: Students travel on a motorboat on the Ogan River, South Sumatra, on Monday in thick smog caused by land and forest fires. The Palembang administration has issued a circular on school-hour changes to anticipate the effects of haze from the fires on child health.(Antara/Mushaful Imam)Forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan that have blanketed the regions with smog for weeks and affected the health of thousands of people in the affected provinces, as well as air quality in neighboring countries, took an added toll on Sunday when a 4-month-old infant named Elsa Fitaloka reportedly died of pneumonia and meningitis.“The haze particles can be the medium to spread the bacteria that can cause the infection,” said the director of Ar-Rasyid Hospital in Palembang, South Sumatra, Toni Siguntang. The infant had received some medical treatment from the hospital before her condition ...