Indonesia cancels international Muslim gathering as virus risk mounts

Paramilitary police officers in hazmat suit disinfect a tent built on a field where a mass congregation is supposed to be held in Gowa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Thursday (March 19). Indonesia halted the congregation of thousands of Muslim pilgrims and began quarantining and checking their health on Thursday to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 (coronavirus). - AP

JAKARTA: An international gathering of Muslims on Indonesia's Sulawei island has been cancelled over concern about the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 25 people and infected 309 in the country, officials said on Thursday (March 19).

A similar gathering by Tablighi Jamaat in Malaysia in late February has been linked to more than 500 Covid-19 cases in that country, including three Indonesians.