Passengers line up at Senen Train Station in Jakarta on Thursday to request refunds for their purchased tickets. The Transportation Ministry will restrict all passenger travel starting on Friday.
Posted on 04/23/2020 4:09:32 PM PDT by Jemian
The Transportation Ministry will restrict all passenger travel starting on Friday as the government attempts to prevent citizens from participating in the annual Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The ban will not apply to cargo transportation or to vehicles serving special purposes, such as ambulances and fire trucks.
“The ban will apply to all types of public and private transportation by air, sea, land and railway, except for vehicles carrying leaders of state institutions, police and military vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks, hearses and vehicles transporting logistical supplies, staple goods and medicines,” ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said in a statement on Thursday.
She added that the ban would apply to vehicles entering and leaving regions that had imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and those that had been declared COVID-19 red zones.
The ministry's air transportation director general, Novie Riyanto, said all passenger transportation to domestic and overseas destinations – both commercial and chartered flights – would be suspended starting Friday at midnight until June 1.
So, we settled into a hotel room and were sound asleep. It had been an exhausting week since the order to leave, packing up the house, arranging care for our dog, and someone to occupy the house while away. In the middle of the night, this story broke. We spent two hours on the phone speaking with people who were drama queens about us knowing this information and rearranging flights. We cancelled tickets. We bought tickets. Done. We leave tonight at 11:40, twenty minutes before the lockdown goes into effect.
Stay safe.
Good luck and more importantly, God’s speed on your travels.
Thank you for your good wishes and prayers. It is hard for me to understand the reasoning behind the order to us. It is stated that medical care in Papua is not up to US standards yet. However, it has a low incidence of Covid. It seems to me that it is better to avoid contagion. But, noooo. We must travel from Papua to Jakarta (higher incidence) through Asia and to the US where we’re #1.
Safe travels. Glad you got a flight “under the wire”.
If it is any consolation Greece doubled the fines for violating stay at home orders and travel bans for just four days—last Thursday through Sunday evening—in an attempt to suppress Orthodox Christian Pascha.
Seems as if “the kings of the earth” have turned against ALL religions...but Christianity especially.
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