Indonesia Declares Emergency over COVID-19

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a national public health emergency over the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday and announced measures to help people with lower incomes.

The measures included expanding social welfare, food assistance and giving electricity tariff discounts and waivers, he said.

Earlier, Indonesia said it will release about 30,000 prisoners early as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to avoid a possible surge in coronavirus infections in its overcrowded prisons.

A document issued by the law and human rights ministry reviewed by Reuters stipulated that adult prisoners would be eligible for parole if they had served two-thirds of their sentences, while children would be eligible if they served half of their jail term.

Ministry spokesman Bambang Wiyono said on Tuesday the parole would encompass around 30,000 prisoners.

So far, the government has reported 1,414 infections and 122 deaths from the virus, but some officials and experts believe a lack of testing has masked the scale of the outbreak.