Containing the coronavirus should be Indonesia's 'first priority,' says former finance minister

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Indonesia has recorded 170 deaths related to COVID-19, the highest toll in Southeast Asia, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

"It's quite clear that getting outbreak under control should be the first priority of the government because containment of the virus will be the key of the recovery," Muhamad Chatib Basri, chairman of think tank Mandiri Institute, told CNBC's"That's the reason why the government needs to act urgently, immediately," said Basri, who was Indonesia's finance minister from 2013 to 2014 under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Some experts said a lack of testing could have masked the scale of the outbreak in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world. Others said the government should impose stricter movement controls or even a full lockdown to manage to the situation.to stem the spread of the virus, while capital city Jakarta — where most infections were found — has declared a state of emergency, reported Reuters.

The country's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati warned that the coronavirus outbreak could bring the Indonesian economy — Southeast Asia's largest — to a halt. She saidThe Indonesian government has allocated to support the economy — a move that would expand the fiscal deficit in 2020 to 5.07% of gross domestic product, reported Reuters.

 

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Lots of social distancing going on in Indonesia.

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