Jakarta. The Jakarta provincial government has issued a circular that tells civil servants and students to stay home on Thursday to prevent traffic congestion amidst Pope Francis’ visit to the populous metropolis.

September 5 will be a busy day for Jakarta. Pope Francis is scheduled to lead a holy mass at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) on Thursday evening. He will also have an interfaith meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque, among other things, earlier that day. Also on the same day, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo --alongside other high-profile guests-- will come to the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum (ISF) at the Jakarta Convention Center.

“The [Jakarta province’s] education agency has taken steps by issuing a circular regarding the work-from-home and study-at-home policies,” Jakarta’s education body acting chief Budi Awaluddin said Tuesday, as reported by the state news agency Antara.

The circular is addressed to 205 schools in Central Jakarta and South Jakarta. For South Jakarta, it targets four sub-districts, namely Kebayoran Baru, Kebayoran Lama, Setiabudi, and Pasar Minggu. There are 46 schools that have to abide by these rules in Central Jakarta, particularly those located in the sub-districts of Gambir, Sawah Besar, Menteng, and Tanah Abang.

Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi previously has told companies around Thamrin and GBK to also implement the work-from-home policy. 

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