Mosques across Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta reopened Friday for the first time in three months.
The mass prayer led by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Baiturrahim Mosque, the Presidential Palace Complex, was the first to be held at the mosque since the implementation of large-scale social distancing in Jakarta due to Covid-19, according to state-run news Antara .
In line with the country’s health protocols to curb the spread of Covid-19, the president wore a mask and had to undergo a body temperature check-up before entering the mosque.
Friday’s prayer was performed in accordance with stringent health protocols, including body temperature scanning and implementation of physical distancing among worshipers, according to information from the press, media and the Information Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat.
Among the reopening measures, worshipers are required to carry along their own respective prayer equipment, wear masks, and wash in accordance with the Islamic teachings before visiting the mosque.
The capacity of the mosque has been temporarily reduced to only 150 worshipers, from its normal capacity of 750 worshipers.
Some context: Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. But as Covid-19 cases were rapidly increasing, the government declared a national public health emergency on March 31.
A holiday travel ban was imposed on all road, air and sea during Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month; and tens of thousands of troops were deployed at checkpoints to enforce the regulations to prevent the disease from further spreading.
