Indonesia has banned an annual homecoming in which tens of millions of people travel to see their families for Eid-al-Fitr, fearing the mass exodus could accelerate the spread of coronavirus across the country.

It is not clear how the rule will be enforced, or how many people have already embarked on journeys after losing jobs in the cities where they worked before the virus emerged. Millions of people across Indonesia have been left with no income as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

President Joko Widodo had previously stopped short of banning “Mudik”, instead urging people not to travel. On Tuesday, he announced a change in policy, citing a transport ministry survey that said roughly a quarter of people were insisting on joining the exodus after Ramadan in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

It is feared that mass movement in the country of 264 million people would allow coronavirus to spread rapidly to areas of the country where health systems are far weaker.

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Indonesia has recorded more than 6,700 coronavirus infections, and 590 fatalities, most of which have occurred in Jakarta. A lack of testing means the actual number is likely to be higher.

There has been friction between Indonesia’s central and local governments over physical distancing measures, with some regional leaders pushing to shut provincial borders to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

There is no national lockdown in Indonesia, and while measures have been introduced in Jakarta, including the closures of schools and businesses, some areas of the city remain busy .

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Coffin are prepared for victims of the coronavirus in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photograph: Achmad Ibrahim/AP

Indonesian Labor Unions chairwoman Nining Elitos said vast numbers of people in Jakarta had had their incomes cut and had no option but to go out and seek work. “Daily labourers, outsourced workers or contract workers, including apprentices are the ones who were most affected. They were laid off without severance,” she said.

“I toured several places, they told me: ‘There has been no assistance from the government. Nobody got it yet. Then how are we told to stay at home? Lest we die together at home.’ That’s the reality today,” Elitos added.