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nbound travelers were seen at a seaport in Aceh Province ahead of Idul Adha festivity on July 30, 2020. ANTARA PHOTO/Irwansyah Putra/hp.

The Transportation Ministry recorded a significant increase of travelers using private cars and public transportation modes during the Idul Adha holiday season as observed at several main toll road sections, airports, seaports, bus terminals, and train stations.

The significant surge in both passengers and cars leaving Jakarta's toll road sections heading to those in West Java and Central Java Provinces had been predicted to reach their peak on July 31, the ministry's spokesperson, Adita Irawati, said in Jakarta on Sunday.

This year's Idul Adha holiday season started from Friday amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic situation so that the transportation operators and passengers were required to practice the health protocols' preventive measures, she said.

The significant increase of air passengers at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten Province, for instance, was recorded on July 30. On that day, more than 37,000 passengers were served at the airport, Irawati said.

The 16 percent growth of passengers, compared to that of normal days, was also followed by the 13 percent increase in aircraft movements, she said, adding that there were 460 aircraft movements on July 30 or a day prior to the Idul Adha celebration, she said.

The significant surge in air passengers could also be observed at Yogyakarta and Surabaya's airports, she said, adding that the drastic increases in passengers could also be found in the country's inter-provincial railway and ferry services, she said.

The flows of private cars leaving Jakarta's inner ring roads heading to the Trans-Java toll road through the Cikampek section and to the Trans-Sumatra toll road through the Merak Port toll road section also increased significantly, she said.

Some 145,546 cars were recorded to leave several toll road sections in Jakarta on July 29. It equals to an 18 percent increase from that of normal days.

Those traveling by their own cars to enjoy the long weekend of the Idul Adha festivity would get back to the metropolitan areas of Jakarta on Sunday (August 2), Irawati said.

This year, Idul Adha, marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage for Muslims in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is being celebrated amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

During this religious festivity, Muslims in Indonesia sacrifice a goat, sheep, and cow. Their meat is then donated to the poor people and other segments of communities.

Coronavirus infections initially surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.

Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories, including 34 provinces of Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.

As of August 1, 2020, Indonesia recorded 1,560 fresh cases, while 2,012 people recovered from the coronavirus disease, according to the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

The country's tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 109,936, including a total of 67,919 recoveries since President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) made an announcement of Indonesia's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

The number of people succumbing to COVID-19 surged by 62, thereby bringing the death toll to 5,193.

A total of 11,190 specimens from 9,355 people were examined at 320 laboratories across Indonesia on Saturday noon, thereby bringing the total number of specimens examined to 1,517,381 from 875,894 people. (ANTARA)