Coronavirus; Govt, Police Prepare Special Eid Homecoming Scheme
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26 March 2020 14:59 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Ministry and National Traffic Police were designing a special scheme for the 2020 Eid homecoming amid the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was being designed in a bid to tackle the potential spread of the disease.
"We are preparing the alternative schemes," said National Police Traffic Corps Head Insp. Gen. Istiono to Tempo on Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Istiono explained that Police are considering either to instruct people not to return to their hometown or imposing a firm restriction following the National Police Chief Gen. Idham Azis' ban against mass gathering as an effort to prevent the virus from further spreading in the country.
"Let's wait for the government's decision. We are still drafting the scenario," said Istiono.
As widely reported, Indonesia sees an increasing number of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the first was announced by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on March 2, 2020. Presently, the virus, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, has claimed 58 lives or 7 percent from a total of 790 infected people in Indonesia.
"Around 701 people are being treated and those who have been declared healthy amount to 31 people or 4 percent," as quoted from the government official site corona.jakarta.go.id this morning.
The holiday season of Eid homecoming or locally known as mudik lebaran, which is predicted to occur at the end of May 2020, is feared to be one of the possibility of widespread of coronavirus infection to many regions and remote areas. Therefore, the government was reviewing policy on the prohibition of this year's Eid homecoming.
M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH