A woman walks on the stairs of a popular Blok M shopping mall normally crowded with shoppers in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (TUTAN SYUFLANA / AP)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday the government is considering starting a new national holiday to prevent the annual mass exodus usually occurring at the end of the Muslim fasting month amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19. 

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Widodo said at a cabinet meeting that measures could be put in place during the new holiday such as making tourist attractions free to help “bring some calm to the people”.

Indonesians, nearly 90% of whom are Muslim, celebrate the end of Ramadan or the Eid al-Fitr festival with a feast and new clothes, usually returning to their home villages or towns.

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Ramadan this year falls over April and May.