Indonesia orders coronavirus transport curbs ahead of Ramadan exodus

Jakarta

Indonesia has imposed curbs on public transport ahead of the annual exodus to home villages that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government said on Sunday.

About 75 million Indonesians usually stream home from bigger cities at the end of Ramadan, due this year at the end of May, but health experts have warned against a surge in cases after a slow government response masked the scale of the outbreak, Reuters reports.

Public buses, trains, aeroplanes and ships will be allowed to fill only half their passenger seats, under a new regulation that also limits occupation of a private car to just half the seats, while a motorcycle may be ridden only by one person.

“The essence of this new regulation is to carry out public transport control...while still meeting the needs of the people,” transport ministry spokeswoman Adita Irawati said in a statement posted on the cabinet secretariat website.