Lebih 333,000 kes jangkitan pernafasan akut di Indonesia

Indonesia recorded 333,470 cases of acute respiratory tract infections linked to forest and land fires across several regions, according to the country's Ministry of Health. Then Suyanti, the Ministry's Environment Health Officer, stated that daily numbers remain high with 4,522 new cases reported, as per the latest data from the Antara news agency.

The current Air Quality Index (IPU) reading indicates that air quality in some areas has reached dangerous levels, particularly in six provinces: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan. Suyanti explained that exposure to forest fire smoke containing fine particles like PM2.5, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other organic compounds can cause various health issues including acute respiratory infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), eye and skin irritation, and other health complications.

On Thursday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that foreign-owned companies may lose their operating permits if found responsible for repeated forest and land fires. He added that the revoked concession can be reinstated for young Indonesians. Regarding forest fires, evidence suggests that many foreign companies are at fault, having held concessions for over a decade but committing violations ranging from three to nineteen times, and even as many as nineteen times in some cases.

Prabowo also emphasized that the companies' permits should be revoked if they commit two violations. Separately, thousands of students and civilians have protested in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, demanding the government declare forest and land fires a national disaster, according to iNews. Indonesia is currently experiencing a prolonged dry season, and the El Nino phenomenon has further exacerbated the risk of forest fires.