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Indonesia eases mobility curbs during Ramadan
The holiday arrangement means that many offices across the country will be closed for the first week of May.
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Worshipers pray to mark the start of Ramadan at Al Akbar Mosque in Surabaya, East Java, on April 2. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
T
he government has announced extended Idul Fitri leave days for this year and vowed to ramp up the rollout of booster shots across the country as it seeks to strike a balance between lifting mobility restrictions while also limiting the risk of rising COVID-19 cases during the festive period.
The move came as restrictions on many activities during the holy month of Ramadan in the country were eased, with worshipers now allowed to hold congregational tarawih (Ramadan evening prayer) and gather to pray in mosques.
The government also allowed people to go back to their hometowns during the Idul Fitri holiday, a tradition known as mudik (exodus), marking the first time it has officially eased restrictions on holiday festivities in the last two years.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Wednesday that May 2 and 3 were officially national Idul Fitri holidays, in addition to mandatory collective leave days on April 29 and May 4 to 6, and called on the public to observe health protocols when they gathered with families and friends.
Read also: Government declares four additional Idul Fitri leave days
The holiday arrangement means that many offices across the country will be closed for the first week of May. The collective leave announced this year was also longer than that of last year, which only saw one day of mandatory collective leave during the Idul Fitri holiday.
"The [extended] collective leave could be used to meet with parents, families and friends back home, but I need to stress that the pandemic is far from over,” Jokowi said on Wednesday, urging those who have yet to get a COVID-19 booster shot to get one before making the trip.
