Coronavirus: Muslim event that drew thousands to Indonesia stopped amid outbreak fears

The Tablighi Jama’at halted the event in Gowa, near Makassar, after a similar gathering in Malaysia led to hundreds of infections

More than 8,500 people from across Indonesia, Asia and the Middle East had converged on the town

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Medical officer sprays disinfectant in mosque amid the coronavirus outbreak in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:33am, 19 Mar 2020Updated: 3:33pm, 19 Mar 2020

A rally of Muslim pilgrims that is drawing thousands of people to Indonesia has been stopped amid fears that it could help spread the new coronavirus, an official said.

But elsewhere in Indonesia, a Christian gathering went ahead with more than 1,000 people despite official discouragement of big religious meetings.

The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country has reported less than 300 coronavirus cases and under 20 deaths – the highest number of fatalities in Southeast Asia – but there are suspicions many have gone undetected and medical workers have accused the government of a “half-hearted” response.

The country has carried out just over 1,200 tests, even though the World Health Organisation warned the government earlier this month to scale up testing to prevent much higher infections in the future.

For days, authorities had been trying to persuade Ijtima Asia, part of the global Tablighi Jama’at movement of evangelical Muslims, to halt the event at Gowa near the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi province after a similar gathering in Malaysia led to hundreds of infections.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), Ijtima finally agreed to postpone/cancel,” the head of Gowa regency, Adnan Purichta Ichsan, posted on social media late on Wednesday.

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