Ministry Of Religion Cancels All Hajj Departures In History Today, June 2, 2020

JAKARTA History today, five years ago, June 2, 2020, the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) took the option of canceling the pilgrimage departure. This difficult option was taken considering the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has entered a frightening stage. The victims increased.

Previously, the presence of the corona virus made the world anxious. Many countries in the world began to be affected by the corona, from casualties to the country's economy. Indonesia too. The government continues to work hard to protect its people.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia is large. The transmission of the corona virus has increased. Likewise, the death rate. This condition made the governmentASTER to do the best ways to break the chain of the spread of the corona virus.

This condition is because the world health agency, WHO does not yet have accurate steps against COVID-19. The government is starting to suppress all social activities in the community. Those who work in the office are limited.

Those who travel by public transportation are closely guarded. Events that have the potential to trigger the emergence of crowds are prohibited. Everything is done so that high transmission rates can be prevented. This condition has affected many industries. The aviation industry, for example.

The aviation industry in the archipelago is an important part of the lives of many people. The business is able to employ many people. This business is also capable of being the mainstay of people traveling with fast travel time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the aviation industry. This burden has made many planes parked in various parts of the archipelago. The state-owned airline, Garuda Indonesia, only parked a lot of planes.

Even though the government did not close the airport or ban existing flights. However, because flights are too risky, this business is starting to run quiet.

"During the COVID-19 period, we did a lot of grounding planes because flight traffic was reduced, so we took the plane to rest. Thus the plane had no problems in terms of conditions and its comfort was maintained. So, we flew in a safe, comfortable and healthy condition," said Garuda Indonesia Technical Director Rahmat Hanafi as quoted by the ANTARA page, May 25, 2020.

The increasing number of COVID-19 transmission has made the Indonesian people even more afraid to fly. The Ministry of Religion also agreed to this problem. The Ministry of Religion finally officially made a difficult decision by canceling all departures of the Hajj pilgrims on June 2, 2020.

The cancellation of departures applies to regular, special, and call pilgrims from Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Religion in that case prioritizes the safety of the Indonesian people. The risk of transmitting the virus using a large air transportation mode.

This condition makes Garuda Indonesia, which in fact will send pilgrims, not used. As a result, 16 planes prepared for Hajj departures are parked again at the airport.

"Today I have issued Decree of the Minister of Religion (KMA) Number 494 of 2020 concerning Cancellation of Departure of Hajj Pilgrims at the Implementation of Hajj in 1441H/2020M. Religion itself teaches, protecting the soul is an obligation that must be prioritized. This is all the basis for consideration in determining policies.

"Time is running and getting tight. Our initial plan, the departure of the first batch on June 26. This means that preparations related to visas, flights, and services in Saudi are only a few days away. We have not added the mandatory quarantine 14 days before departure and upon arrival. In fact, access to services from Saudi until now has not been clear when it will start," said the Minister of Religion, Fachrul Razi as quoted on the Cabinet Secretariat website, June 2, 2020.