JAKARTA
Indonesian president declared on Tuesday a national public health emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, and announced an additional $24.7 billion spending to mitigate the impact.
“The government has determined COVID-19 as a type of disease causing community emergencies. Therefore, it is setting out public health emergency status,” Joko Widodo told a news conference.
“I have decided to impose large-scale social restrictions as stipulated by Law No.6/2018 on Health Quarantines.”
He also issued a presidential decree on the emergency status.
The decision comes as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian nation reached 1,528, with 136 deaths.
