Indonesia declares state of emergency as virus toll jumps again

Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency today (Tuesday) as coronavirus death doll in the country jumped again.

According to details, Indonesian President has resisted calls for a nationwide lockdown. In this regard, the president has been heavily criticized for not imposing lockdown in major cities including Jakarta.

Indonesian president shared few details of the state of emergency beyond calling for stricter social distancing. However, he also announced $1.5 billion in beefed-up social assistance and subsidies for low-income workers.

Joko Widodo said, “To overcome the impact of COVID-19, we’ve chosen the option of large-scale social distancing.”

“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.