Govt Drafts 'Mudik' Safety Protocol During Coronavirus Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry is finalizing the regulations on the transportation system protocol which will stand as a reference for this year’s mass exodus, or locally known mudik season, in a bid to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further to other Indonesian regions. The rules are designed in consideration of large-scale social restriction policy or PSBB.

“The government asks people not to go mudik. If anyone insists, all of them must meet stringent requirements and protocols,” said Transportation Ministry’s spokesperson Adita Irawati on Wednesday, April 8.

Adita explained people insisting to go leave for Eid homecoming should bring with them a guidebook, which is noting their travel data such as their place of origin and their destinations. The ministry will also enforce physical distancing. Thus, the number of passengers allowed to board a fleet will likely be reduced.

People traveling to their hometown while riding a motorcycle are not allowed to carry a passenger, while for those riding a car, the number of passengers should only be half of the car's capacity.

Moreover, homecomers who come from a red zone or areas implementing PSBB must practice individual isolation for fourteen days upon their arrival and after they return.

“We hope these strict rules will drop the people’s desire to travel between cities, especially from and to areas that have been enforced PSBB status,” Adita added.

Earlier reported, an online survey held by the Transportation Ministry's Research and Development Agency showed that 56 percent of the total 42,000 respondents will not go on mudik during the coronavirus pandemic, while 37 percent is still undecided, and seven percent had gone mudik. 

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA