Ramadan Tradition Persists During Pandemic

The Jakarta provincial government has ordered the city's Muslim residents to drop a Ramadan tradition of visiting the graves of dead relatives before the fasting month starts on Friday.

The order is part of the city's large-scale social restriction (PSBB) that began on April 7 and has now been extended to May 22 to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

The Karet Bivak and Karet Tengsin public cemeteries in Central Jakarta were quiet on Wednesday, when normally they would be filled with families praying next to simple graves.

The Jakarta City Park and Forest Agency has imposed a limit of five people per family allowed to enter any cemetery during the PSBB.

At the cemetery gates, municipal police officers explain the dos and don'ts for visitors, including always wearing a facemask and observing physical distancing.