Jakarta. Civil servants are allowed to work from home this whole week to help ease traffic congestion as millions of people are returning to the capital city from their hometowns after Idul Fitri, the biggest holiday season for Indonesian Muslims.

The peak of inter-provinces traffic heading to Jakarta was expected on Saturday and Sunday so the government advised travelers to delay their trips to Monday and afterward.

As a consequence, state employees aren’t required to turn up at their offices immediately on Monday.

“We support the advice by the National Police chief in order to ease traffic loads heading to Greater Jakarta,” Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said in a statement on Sunday.

Normal work conditions will be reimposed from May 16, he added.

Earlier, State Administrative Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo also instructed all state agencies to rearrange schedules and implement the work-from-home policy, which has become a familiar method since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tjahjo claimed distance works won’t disrupt public services because the central government has adopted the online system in most public offices.

Besides, the policy also provides an opportunity for returning employees and their families to self-isolate and prevent the spread of Covid-19, he added.

The government estimated that Idul Fitri-related travels involved 85.5 million people across the archipelago.