In connection with a plan to serve certain routes, the central headquarters has yet to take any final decision. If we operate trains for these certain routes, strict conditions will be applicable for passengers
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned railway operator PT KAI's Regional Operation (DAOP) 6 in Yogyakarta recorded that almost 40 thousand passengers cancelled tickets for trips from April to early May to contain the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission.

The passengers, who cancelled their tickets for trips during the Idul Fitri holiday season, would be fully refunded, spokesman of PT KAI's Regional Operation (DAOP) 6 in Yogyakarta Eko Budiyanto clarified in Yogyakarta on Saturday.

The ticket cancellations took place since PT KAI's Regional Operation (DAOP) 6 no longer offered its long-distance trips until May 31, including on routes to Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Malang, and Ketapang, he explained.

"In connection with a plan to serve certain routes, the central headquarters has yet to take any final decision. If we operate trains for these certain routes, strict conditions will be applicable for passengers," Budiyanto remarked.

Passengers intent on cancelling their trips amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic do not have to necessarily visit the train stations but simply do the cancellation through the KAI Access Application, he expounded.

The coronavirus outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, but it then spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2.

Since then, the central and regional governments nationwide have striven persistently to flatten the curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

In breaking the chain of this novel coronavirus disease that has impacted the purchasing power of numerous families in Indonesia, large-scale social restrictions are also applied in several other cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

The central government has also banned homebound travel, or locally known as "mudik," during the fasting month of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri holiday seasons.

The government officially implemented the “mudik” ban at 00:00 hrs Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Friday, April 24, 2020. The ban excludes the movement of logistics, drugs, officers, fire engines, ambulances, and hearses.

As stipulated in the Minister of Transportation's Regulation on Transportation Control during the Idul Fitri 1441 H Mudik, public vehicles, private vehicles, and motorbikes are banned from entering and departing from regions enacting the Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) measures and regions demarcated as COVID-19 red zones, such as Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

The ban will be in place until May 31, 2020, for land transportation; June 15, 2020, for railway transportation; June 8, 2020, for sea transportation; and, June 1, 2020, for air transportation. Related news: PWI, Madura United FC distribute 600 aid packages to locals

Related news: Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital treats 23 new COVID-19 inpatients


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Translator: Eka AR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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