Don't Travel Abroad to Spend Idul Fitri Holiday: Gov't

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian government has asked the public not to travel abroad to spend Ramadan and Idul Fitri holiday as the country tries to keep COVID-19 case surge at bay.

The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said COVID-19 development and situation in each country is different; therefore, the government is asking Indonesians not to go abroad to spend their holiday to prevent coronavirus infection and a potential new wave.

“With long holiday coming, the public needs to be reminded not to travel abroad because, as we know, the situation in other countries is different from Indonesia, so there’s a potential of getting infected while overseas,” Hartarto said on Monday, April 18, as reported by Antara.

As an example, he mentioned the most recent outbreak in Shanghai, China, that forced authorities to implement local lockdown.

Reuters reported that as of April 15, there were 3,590 symptomatic cases and 19,923 asymptomatic cases. It was also reported that the number of asymptomatic cases increased by 19,872 from the previous day.

Considering the ongoing trend, Hartarto reiterated that COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be over, and he asked the public to support the government in preventing imported cases.

“We wouldn’t want our travelers to bring home the virus.”

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the COVID-19 Task Force reported 607 new confirmed cases on Sunday, which brings the number of active cases in the country to 58,278 cases.