JAKARTA (AP): While Indonesia’s neighbours scrambled early this year to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the government of the world’s fourth most populous nation insisted that everything was fine.
In speeches, Indonesia’s health minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, told his country's people that they shouldn’t fear the virus, even as tens of thousands around the world were being infected.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo acknowledged last month that the government had chosen to keep the public misinformed about the state of the coronavirus in the country. Widodo, perhaps spurred by a desire for economic growth, promoted Putranto’s theories, ignoring the likelihood that the vast archipelago nation had virus cases.
The turning point came when the government announced the country's two first cases on March 2. Dozens of other infections were confirmed over the next couple of weeks, prompting Widodo’s administration to finally take serious measures, including ordering nationwide social distancing and suspending all nonessential activities."This outbreak affected my life worse than a tsunami, ” said Risti Ameliana, a resident of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital.
Monardo said Indonesia is also facing shortages of essential medical supplies, including personal protective equipment for health care workers. He said the shortages have contributed to the deaths of at least 32 doctors and 12 nurses. As of March, it had raised 24% of the financing for the fiscal shortfall through debt issuance, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Indonesia reports 327 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, 47 new deathsJAKARTA: The Indonesian government on Sunday (April 19) announced 327 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 (coronavirus), bringing the total number of infections in the archipelagic country to 6,575.
Read more »
M'sia sees best improvement yet with 36 new Covid-19 cases, no deathsCORONAVIRUS | Health DG announces that another 98 patients have recovered and discharged from the hospital.
Read more »
Health D-G: New Covid-19 cluster detected from students returning from Indonesia | Malay MailKUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — A new cluster of coronavirus (Covid-19) has been detected from Malaysians returning from abroad, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah revealed today. In his daily press briefings today, Dr Noor Hisham said this new cluster was detected from a group of...
Read more »
New Covid-19 cluster emerges from students returning from Indonesia, says Health DGPETALING JAYA: A new Covid-19 cluster has emerged from students returning to Malaysia from Indonesia on April 16, says the Health Ministry.
Read more »
Returnees from Indonesia bring in Covid-19 and 8 news from yesterdayKINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.
Read more »
Covid-19: Task force discovers 2,484 close contacts have not undergone tests in S'wakMIRI: Sarawak's Covid-19 task force has found that 2,484 people in Kuching, believed to be close contacts of positive Covid-19 patients, have not undergone any health screenings.
Read more »