Islamic World Ijtima Gathering in Gowa Canceled over Coronavirus
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19 March 2020 17:54 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The South Sulawesi Provincial Government has officially canceled an Islamic gathering dubbed the World Ijtima Asia scheduled on March 19-22 in Gowa District’s Pakkatto Village. The local government and event organizers deemed it safer to suspend the event amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.
South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah said the participants of the gathering come from a number of international countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Brunei, and Timor Leste.
The international participants are currently undergoing health checks at the Sudiang Hajj dormitory, a temporary make-shift coronavirus isolation facility.
“We are currently isolating the foreign nationals at the location and have prepared a hotel in Makassar for them before sending them back home,” said Nurdin Abdullah in Makassar today, March 19.
As for locals, the governor said that the local administration will transport them back home after they undergo 14-days of isolation. He said the transportation will only be available for those living in the vicinity of South Sulawesi.
Governor Nurdin also said that he is in talks with air carriers to help provide tickets to transport the foreign participants home, which nearly comprises 474 people from 12 countries.
The organizer of the World Ijtima Asia gathering, Mustari Burhanuddin, claimed that foreign participants have arrived at the region three months prior to the coronavirus spread. However, he maintained that organizers will adhere to the government’s advice upon limiting public gatherings amid the plague.
DIDIT HARIYADI (CONTRIBUTOR)