“From 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., we asked 1,181 motorists to turn around, that is 498 motorists at the Bitung toll gate heading to Merak, Banten and 683 motorists at the Cikarang toll gate heading toward West Java,” Jakarta Police traffic director Sr. Comr. Sambodo Purnomo Yogo said in a written statement on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

The vehicle checks are being conducted at 18 posts in border areas. From April 24 to May 7, vehicles attempting to leave Greater Jakarta will be asked to turn around. Fines will be imposed starting May 8.

He also said traffic police had noted that the volume of vehicles leaving Jakarta had increasing in the two days prior to the official mudik ban.

Read also: COVID-19: 'Mudik' risks mass contagion across Java

“The volume of vehicles recorded at the Cikampek main toll gate, for example, increased to 25,797 on Wednesday from 18,753 vehicles on Tuesday,” Sambodo said.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Tuesday that people would be banned from participating in the annual Idul Fitri exodus to further stem the spread of COVID-19. The decision came based on field research and a survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry that showed 24 percent of respondents insisted on returning to their hometowns for Lebaran.  

Annually, some 20 million people nationwide travel to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri with their families. (aly)