Wahidin Halim, the Governor of Banten, has said that students are to be swabbed before starting face-to-face learning.
He has ordered the Education and Culture Office to conduct research and sample all school students to find an overview of the risks of spreading COVID-19.
“We’re still planning for face-to-face learning. Yesterday, we asked that the education office take a sampling. We want to see trends and indicators from each region,” he said.
After being swabbed and taking a rapid test, positive students are to face contact tracing. For each sample in both rural and urban areas, if students of the school test negative, the school is to be considered safe.
The areas that are safe will be mapped as negative for COVID-19 and show that there are no clusters. Schools that have students test negative are to restart face-to-face learning in January.
“We will open schools but be careful to make sure we do not let children become victims,” as quoted by DetikNews.
The research results from the COVID-19 Task Force are to be delivered in the upcoming weeks where mapping will be analysed and results will be shared to the public.