Indonesia bans traditional Ramadan exodus to rein in COVID-19 spread

JAKARTA: Indonesia will ban its traditional annual exodus of people streaming out of cities at the end of the Muslim fasting month in May, as the Southeast Asian nation looks to curb the spread of COVID-19, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday (Apr 21).

Indonesia's tally of 590 coronavirus deaths is the highest in East Asia after China, but Widodo had previously resisted a ban, seeking instead to persuade people to stay put.

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But health experts had warned that allowing millions in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country to travel to their home villages after Ramadan could hasten the spread of the disease.

"I have taken the decision that we will ban 'mudik'," Widodo told a Cabinet meeting, using the Indonesian term for the journey. "That is why the relevant preparation needs to be done."

He cited a survey by the transport ministry that showed 24 per cent of the archipelago's population of more than 260 million were insisting on joining the exodus after Ramadan.

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Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment said that the ban will come into effect on Friday.

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Last year, about 19.5 million people in the archipelago made the journey, the government says, and Widodo added that 7 per cent of Indonesians had already set Read More – Source