JAKARTA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has shortened the Christmas holiday to come at the end of this year and shifted dates of two other holidays this year amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, a senior minister said Friday.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy said the Christmas holiday which lasted two days in previous years was cut to just one day, namely only Dec. 25.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has moved the holiday of Islamic New Year from Aug. 10 to 11, and that of the Prophet Muhammad's Birthday from Oct. 19 to 20, for the Southeast Asian country.
Indonesia on Friday recorded 12,990 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily spike since late January and bringing the total tally to 1,963,266, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 related death toll added by 290 to 54,043. Enditem
