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Policy inconsistencies muddy ‘mudik’ measures
While the national COVID-19 task force has tightened and expanded travel restrictions ahead of Idul Fitri, authorities are allowing tourist destinations to remain open and travelers to move within urban agglomerations. Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has also asked the task force to permit Islamic boarding school students to return home.
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A costumed police officer displays a leaflet discouraging people from participating in the Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) because of the risk of COVID-19 contagion, in Tegal, Central Java, on April 26. (Antara/Oky Lukmansyah)
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n an effort to prevent another COVID-19 spike in the country, the government has tightened travel restrictions to prevent the Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) for the second year in a row.
But public officials’ comments on the measures have been plagued with inconsistencies, creating confusion about what will be permitted and concern about whether the ban will be able to prevent a case surge.
The mudik ban was announced by Coordinating Human Development and Culture Ministrer Muhadjir Effendy in late March. He said it would apply to everyone in the country from May 6 to 17.
This year’s Idul Fitri is slated for May 12 or 13, depending on the sighting of the moon. The peak of mudik usually occurs a week before. Under normal circumstances, some 20 million people travel to their hometowns for the holiday annually.
Read also: 'Mudik' banned – again
After the initial announcement, the national COVID-19 task force enforced tighter travel restrictions to include April 22 to May 5 and May 18 to 24, following a survey that indicated that some people were still planning to travel to their hometowns before or after the ban.
Under the restrictions, people traveling by public land, sea or air transportation are required to present negative results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), antigen or GeNose breathalyzer tests taken no earlier than 24 hours before the trip. Previously, authorities had allowed travelers to present results of tests taken three days prior to departure.
