Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from across Asia gathered in Indonesia on Wednesday, despite fears that their meeting could fuel the spread of a coronavirus, just two weeks after a similar event in Malaysia caused more than 500 infections.
Organizers and regional officials said the event in the world's fourth most populous nation had begun, although the regional police chief said he was making a last-ditch effort to persuade organizers to call it off.
Organizers had rejected a formal request from authorities to postpone the gathering, said a regional official, Arifuddin Saeni.
Saeni estimated that 8,695 people had already assembled in Gowa, near the provincial city of Makassar, adding that the numbers would make it hard to put a halt to the proceedings.