Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health has asked all families to pay attention to the health of their children before joining this year’s Eid al-Fitr mudik (homecoming exodus). “Actually, regarding exodus, we tend to see about, for example, traffic accidents or unfit health conditions. This is outside the context of COVID-19, but we still need to maintain our health,” Head of the ministry’s Communication and Public Services Bureau Siti Nadia Tarmizi said here on Thursday.
In response to the prediction of 123 million people joining the 2023 Eid exodus, she highlighted that health is the most important thing that must be maintained by all parties. If children are in an unhealthy condition, for example, if they have a fever, parents are expected not to force them to take part in the exodus because it is feared that their condition will get worse during the journey.
In addition, she also asked people joining the exodus not to drive when they are very sleepy and not to drink energy drinks. People are being encouraged to take healthy foods and water for the journey.
Tarmizi said that the health of families can be better monitored and maintained if they undergo health checks at community health centers (puskesmas) first before taking part in the exodus.
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That way, everyone can maintain each other’s health and arrive at their destination healthily and safely. Earlier, the Ministry of Transportation said that there were 85 million exodus travelers during last year’s Eid al-Fitr and around 14 million of them were from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek).
For this year’s Eid al-Fitr, the government has projected that the number of exodus travelers will reach 123 million, based on a survey of potential people’s movement during the Eid period.
