JAKARTA, March 31, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Indonesian leader Joko Widodo declared
a state of emergency Tuesday as coronavirus deaths in the world’s fourth most
populous country jumped again, but he resisted calls for a nationwide
lockdown.
Widodo’s administration has been heavily criticised for not imposing
lockdowns in major cities, including the capital Jakarta, a vast megalopolis
home to about 30 million people where most of the country’s virus deaths have
been reported.
Indonesia’s leader offered few details of the state of emergency beyond
calling for stricter social distancing, but announced $1.5 billion in beefed-
up social assistance and subsidies for low-income workers.
Tens of millions eke out a living on poorly-paid jobs in Southeast Asia’s
biggest economy.
“To overcome the impact of COVID-19, we’ve chosen the option of large-
scale social distancing,” Widodo told reporters.
“We must learn from the experience in other countries, but we cannot copy
them because every country has its own characteristics,” he added.
On Tuesday, authorities said 136 people had died after contracting the
virus, with 1,528 confirmed cases of infection.
But the latter figure is widely thought to be well below the real number
in the archipelago of more than 260 million.
The Indonesian Doctors’ Association has warned that the coronavirus crisis
is far worse than has been officially reported and that the government’s
response is “in tatters”.
Jakarta’s governor has said nearly 300 suspected or confirmed victims of
the virus have been wrapped in plastic and quickly buried in the city since
the start of March.
The capital’s top politician has been pushing for a total lockdown of the
city.
Also Tuesday, Indonesia’s corrections agency said it is set to offer early
release to about 30,000 inmates to help stem the spread of the virus in over-
crowded prisons. The number amounts to more than 10 percent of Indonesia’s
272,000 inmate population.