Indonesia's Joko Widodo declares state of emergency as Coronavirus toll increases

As the deadly Coronavirus continues to spread like fire across the globe, the Indonesian government declared a state of emergency on March 31 as the death toll in the world's fourth most populous country witnessed a great spike in the cases. Indonesian leader Joko Widodo refrained himself from taking any decisions pertaining to a nationwide lockdown.

State of Emergency

The administration of Widodo has been highly criticised by the people and other governments for not imposing lockdowns in major cities, including its capital Jakarta, which is home to about 30 million people and also the place with higher number of COVID-19 death cases.

Widodo was little sceptical while revealing details about the state of emergency and believed in following stricter social distancing rules, and also announced USD 1.5 billion in beefed-up social assistance and subsidies for low-income workers. On March 31, the authorities confirmed the Coronavirus death toll which saw a spike to 136 people after contracting the virus, with 1,528 confirmed cases of infection. 

Read:Police Trucks Used To Disinfect Indonesia Roads

Read:Quake Shakes Eastern Indonesia Amid Fears Of Coronavirus

Disinfecting Indonesian roads

Police officials in Indonesia used water cannons to spray disinfectant onto roads to prevent the spread of deadly Coronavirus disease. In Solo, Central Java, spraying was carried out on all main roads on March 27. Solo police said that the operation was conducted with the motto of preventing the spread of the deadly virus.

For most people, the Coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

This Coronavirus has caused a global pandemic that has sickened at least 605,000, killed 28,000 worldwide, crippled economies and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people to stop the virus from spreading further and overwhelming health care systems.   

Read: COVID-19: New York's Empire State Building Displays Siren To Honour Emergency Workers

Read: BIG: Johnson & Johnson Plans Coronavirus Vaccine Human Test; Gives Emergency Use Timeline

Image credit: AP