COVID-19 in Children and Policy of the Indonesian Government to Begins New School Year

Abstract

The New Coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) is the world’s health crisis. Various aspects of the virus
are still unknown. As the COVID-19 virus became more prevalent, the Government of Indonesia issued
several types of policies, including in the education sector, by closing schools as an emergency measure
to prevent the spread of infection. But when the start of the new school year, it makes parents who have
school-age children start to worry, if it will start during this pandemic. The study aimed to find a picture
of the impact of the Ministry of Education’s policy discourse on the start of a new school year for schoolaged
children. The study design was conducted with a descriptive analysis approach which was carried out
through a literature review. The results of the study found that although children tend to have mild symptoms
of COVID-19, it did not mean we should ignore those who have this disease. We still need to take steps to
prevent them from becoming infected. Policies for reopening schools must be carefully considered. Among
them were waiting for conditions to be safe from the impact of COVID-19 following the decisions of the
COVID-19 Task Force and the Ministry of Health, as well as the local government as the person in charge
of basic education.