According to Rabithah Ma’ahid Islamiyah (RMI), an institution under Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the umbrella organization of NU pesantren, at least 207 clerics at 110 pesantren nationwide have died of COVID-19 as of Dec. 8.

RMI chairman Abdul Ghofarrozin said the coronavirus threatened the wellbeing of pesantren as well as clerics, and the government had yet to perform optimally to safeguard citizens.

“The indicators including suboptimal coordination among [government] agencies or ministries with regard to handling COVID-19 at pesantren, limited education and information about [the spread of the coronavirus] at pesantren and public communication that is unfavorable to pesantren, especially when virus clusters emerge at pesantren,” Abdul said in a statement as quoted by kompas.id on Saturday. 

He went on to say that pesantren in several regions of the country faced difficulties in receiving polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for COVID-19, access to basic medical services, including doctors and health facilities, as well as proper isolation facilities. 

Therefore, Abdul said, he hoped the government would be “more serious” in addressing the matter by applying an integrated mechanism -- from prevention to mitigation -- for COVID-19 handling at pesantren. 

Fakhrur Rozi, an administrator at the Pondok Pesantren An-Nur 1 Bululawang boarding school in Malang, East Java, said a proper mitigation approach was one of the important things that needed attention to curb the virus spread at pesantren. The needed mitigation included better access and facilities to medical treatment to quickly respond to a case.

“We’ve provided the pesantren with isolation and quarantine facilities for santri [pesantren students] as well any community member of the pesantren who develop symptoms. 

COVID-19 infections at 'pesantren'. (JP/Hengky Wijaya)

“Our medical facilities are also equipped with a doctor, while we also provide [the pesantren community members] with nutrition, probiotics and herbal supplements,” he said, adding that the pesantren applied strict mobility restrictions and physical distancing rules. 

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry’s infectious diseases prevention director, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said the government had issued Ministerial Decree No. 2322/2020 on guidelines of pesantren community empowerment to prevent and handle COVID-19 at pesantren.

“Basically, the guidelines offer comprehensive guidance on [COVID-19] prevention and handling at pesantren. We hope local leaders, along with local health agencies, can work with pesantren administrators to properly implement the guidelines,” she added.

Nadia went on to say that publicly communicating the guidelines, which were released in September, had resulted in 85 percent of 27,700 pesantren in Indonesia establishing COVID-19 task forces in their respective communities, while 93 percent of them were working closely with regional task forces and nearest health facilities. 

As of Saturday, Indonesia saw new 6,388 confirmed cases in a single day, bringing the total case number to 611,631, including 18,653 fatalities.

In October, COVID-19 clusters were detected at several pesantren in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Central Java. 

Some 200 students of the Quranic Studies Institute (PTIQ) in Cilandak, South Jakarta, have tested positive for COVID-19.

The students were transported by bus to isolation facilities at the Kemayoran COVID-19 hospital and Pademangan Tower in Central Jakarta, without their parents being notified, wartakota.tribunnews.com reported on Oct. 5. 

“The institute has yet to inform me of anything. I don’t even know which tower my child is staying in,” said one of the parents, who was not identified. 

It was previously reported that a student staying in the school’s dormitory had contracted COVID-19. The school has continued to hold in-person classes, despite the reimposition of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Jakarta on Sept. 14. (nkn)