Indonesian Doctors Suggest Closing Transport to Prevent Mudik
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21 April 2020 15:43 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Adib Khumaidi, deputy chairman of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), advised the government to temporarily stop public transportation to prevent 'going home' or 'mudik', the tradition of people returning to their hometowns during Ramadan and Eid.
This is to further prevent the transmission of Covid-19 in the countryside.
“Just telling them no without real restriction—that would be difficult," Adib told Tempo on April 21.
If mass transportation still operates, Adib said, he fears the public would insist on leaving Jakarta—or other big cities they work in—to go on a mudik trip. Therefore, he requested that an operational ban be imposed on land, sea and air transportation.
President Joko Widodo officially decided to ban going home. This decision was taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
IDI stated that it is the correct policy to prevent another outbreak of coronavirus, as the key to containing the virus is by breaking the chain of transmission; in this case people's movements and mobility.
M Rosseno Aji