Riau Province On Alart As Haze Worsens

Pekanbaru, Riau, (antarariau.com) - The Riau provincial government has issued a notification letter on emergency alert as haze from plantation and peatland fires has worsened.

"Since June 17 (2013), we have issued a notification letter to all existing health offices throughout the province and cities in Riau. The notification letter informs that the province is on emergency alert for haze," said Head of the Riau Health Office Zainal Arifin here Thursday.

Zainal said that with the declaration of Riau in a smog emergency alert, then any existing health services throughout the districts and cities in Riau Province can act quickly without have to coordinate with the Riau health office.

"We also request that all health officers to be proactive in responding to the public health problems associated with air pollution from the smog haze in the past one week," he said.

Efforts to address the public health problems should also be done quickly in order to avoid more severe health risks, he added.

The haze could affect the people's health as it could among other things cause respiratory problem.

"Currently, we have not yet received any data from various districts and cities health office representatives related to respiratory disease case. But it is certain the number of patients with respiratory disorders will increase significantly," he said.

"People should immediately go to the health centre if they start experiencing shortness of breath for first aid treatment before the illness become acute," he said.

A drastic increase in the number of patients is reported in Dumai that recorded 15 percent surge of patients every week at local health care facilities.

"Up until this week, we have recorded that there are about 393 cases of respiratory disorder," said Dumai Health Office Chief, Marjoko.