Muslims begin marking Ramadan with socially distanced prayers

Muslims pray spaced apart at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia (Achmad Ibrahim/AP)

Muslims have begun marking Ramadan with communal prayers in a socially distanced contrast to the empty mosques of a year ago when Islam’s holiest month coincided with the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 cases are spiking in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, but vaccines are being administered and the government is loosening restrictions.