Indonesia Highlights: Indonesia to Apply No Exceptions in Eid al-Fitr Holiday Travel Ban | Indonesia Quarantines Foreign Sailors Suspected of Carrying Covid-19 Variant From India | Indonesia: Locals

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian government’s ban on travel for the Idul Fitri or Eid al-Fitr is thrown into question, after local authorities question the feasibility of banning travel within agglomerations of large cities and the surrounding areas.

Concerns over the spread of Covid-19 variants from India, South Africa and Great Britain continues, after authorities in the Central Java port of Cilacap intern 13 sailors out of 20-man crew of a cargo ship that sailed in from India that tested positive for Covid-19.

And Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra erupts again, as the volcano spews clouds three kilometers in the sky. This and more on Indonesia Highlights:

Tangkapan layar Kompas TV A Kompas TV screenshot of an ambulance stopped in Bekasi, West Java for carrying homebound holiday travelers in Bekasi, West Java Friday (7/5/2021).

Indonesia to Apply No Exceptions in Eid al-Fitr Holiday Travel Ban

The government has announced that its decision to ban homecoming travel or mudik for the Idul Fitri or Eid al-Fitr holidays will include agglomerations of nearby areas as well as more distant provinces.

Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said the ban applies to nearby inter-provincial agglomerations such as the Greater Jakarta area encompassing the capital and the satellite cities of Bekasi, Bogor, and Depok in West Java province, as well as Tangerang in Banten province.

“The government never made exceptions for localized travel, since all holiday travel is not allowed,” he confirmed to Kompas.com on Friday, May 7.

Wiku is aware that ambiguity and confusion still surrounded the government’s policy on travel in agglomerated areas like the Greater Jakarta Area.

“[The government’s] policy confused us. During our meeting with Minister of Home Affairs [Tito Karnavian], the central government said holiday travel within agglomerated areas are allowed. Then the government confused us by reversing that position,” said Tangerang Mayor Arief Wismansyah.

The Jakarta Provincial Administration is just as confused with the dilemma of telling the difference between citizens of the Greater Jakarta that need to buy foods, go to work or emergencies with those going to their parents’ house for the holidays.

Aside from the Greater Jakarta Area and Greater Solo Area, other agglomerations that will be affected by the government policy include the surrounding areas of other Indonesian cities such as Bandung, Medan and Makassar.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/05/08/092415174/indonesia-to-apply-no-exceptions-in-holiday-travel-ban?page=all#page2. 

KOMPAS.COM/FADLAN MUKHTAR ZAIN A cargo ship which sailed from India and docked in Cilacap, Central Java. 13 of the ship's crew tested positive for Covid-19

Indonesia Quarantines Foreign Sailors Suspected of Carrying Covid-19 Variant From India

Concerns over the transmission of the B.1.6.1.7 Covid-19 variant from India continues to spread throughout Indonesia, after authorities in the port of Cilacap, Central Java province quarantined 13 foreign sailors who tested positive for Covid-19.