Thousands attend ordination on Indonesian island of Flores

Thousands of people on the Indonesian island of Flores attended an ordination ceremony for a Catholic bishop on Thursday, despite calls from authorities to avoid mass gatherings to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. A priest who attended the ceremony inside the Ruteng Cathedral estimated that about 4,000 people gathered inside and around the church located in East Nusa Tenggara province.

Sebastian Rida, a catholic resident of Ruteng who witnessed the ceremony said that officers from the local health agency had asked people to use masks and hand sanitisers, but not everyone complied.

Ardu Jelamu, a spokesman of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration office, said that it was not possible to cancel the event, but they tried to restrict people from attending.

Seven thousand participants were planning to witness the event. Earlier this week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo made an appeal to Indonesians to decrease the movement of people. Indonesia currently has 309 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 19 deaths. For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the virus.