Indonesia Begins Eid al-Fitr Travel Ban as Some Try To Skirt Rules

JAKARTA - Indonesia began imposing a previously announced ban on domestic travel on Thursday as it sought to contain the spread of the coronavirus during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations, when millions normally travel to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month. 

Police officers were deployed across the capital city of Jakarta on Thursday to check documents and prevent travelers without special permission from leaving the city. They were enforcing a ban on travel by air, land, sea and rail announced in April and due to be in place May 6-17.  Millions of people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation traditionally “mudik” or return home to visit their families for the celebrations.  But senior health officials have expressed concern about the emergence of new and more virulent coronavirus mutations across Indonesia, including two cases this week of the B.1.617 variant, which was first identified in India late last year and is ravaging the country.