TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Transportation Ministry announced that there are residents of the Jakarta Greater Area or Jabodetabek (an abbreviation for Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) that have traveled away to their hometown amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

This mass exodus annual tradition on Eid holidays that is locally known as Mudik, had caused a spike in the number of people under monitoring (ODP) for Covid-19 in other regions.

”Some people from Jabodetabek started early to go on the trip to their hometown because we have not banned it. After the mudik, reports of ODP in other regions began to arise such as in Sumedang,” said the transportation ministry’s spokesperson Adita Irawati on Friday, Macrh 27.

The ministry’s director-general of land transportation Budi Setiyadi confirmed the government’s suspicion after passenger congestion in type A terminals saw an increase. The spike in bus travelers happened from March 21-23 across the Wonogiri, Purwokerto, and Solo Terminal, which are all located in Central Java.

”Based on our mapping, people who migrated from Central Java in search for informal work in Jakarta were jobless amid the coronavirus pandemic. They then decided to return to their hometowns,” said Budi Setiyadi.

The ministry assures that a ban on mudik has been submitted to the central government in an attempt to limit the mobilization of people and curb the spread of the coronavirus. There had already been one recorded case of this happening in Central Java on March 21 where a man from Jakarta helped organize a family event at his hometown in Gunung Kidul before being declared positive for coronavirus.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA