After a long stint abroad working as a waiter on cruise ships, Komang Sudiarta returned to his native Bali in 2005 to find the idyllic Indonesian holiday island swamped with rubbish – endless piles of plastic bags and cigarette butts. He was furious at the sight of trash piled up in temples and blanketing beaches, his favourite haunts as a child.

Febriana Firdaus in Bali and Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok – It was just last month that Indonesia's coronavirus cases stood at zero, with officials fiercely rejecting suggestions that infections were spreading undetected.

Weeks later, 78 fatalities have now been linked to the virus, the highest number in south-east Asia. Seven health workers are among those who have died.

Australia is supporting Timor-Leste to be prepared in case there is an outbreak of COVID-19. The neighbouring country has provided personal protective equipment and medical supplies to protect healthcare workers.

Dili – The threat posed by the coronavirus (Covid-19) has forced the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste to cancel mass during Easter in the whole country. The decision was made during the Timorese Episcopal Conference (Konferensia Episkopal Timorense – CET) where the papal verdict regarding the Covid-19 crisis was confirmed.

Jakarta – The government plans to give financial aid of up to 5 million rupiah (US$306.80) to each macro and small business, as well as to workers in the informal sector, such as those running ride-hailing motorcycle taxis, whose earnings have been hit because of the stay-at-home policy imposed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) is ensuring the liquidity in the country's financial system would be sufficient to meet the people's needs in the coming months as massive capital outflows seen in the past several days have begun to decline.

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – The Trade Ministry has issued a regulation to temporarily scrap all requirements for importing protective gear and medical equipment to reverse the shortages of such items used to treat COVID-19 patients and prevent further spread.

Jakarta – Southeast Asia's largest economy is now projected to grow just 3.6 percent this year, far below the government's original estimate of about 5 percent, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to severely hurt trade and manufacturing over the next six months. according to the think-tank.

Ganug Nugroho Adi, Wonogiri – Families residing in Jakarta have started to pack their bags and return to their home towns, including to Wonogiri, Central Java, despite the government's warning for people not to travel home for Idul Fitri this year so as to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has postponed COVID-19 testing for lawmakers and their families, which was scheduled for Thursday, following an outpouring of public outrage over the plan.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Experts are warning the public against panic-buying chloroquine phosphate, an antimalarial drug thought to be a possible treatment for COVID-19, citing the dangerous side effects of the medicine.

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – For many Indonesians, family is among the first people we turn to for support and comfort when the going gets tough, but as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps more and more people home for work and school, urban migrants in Jakarta have been asked to refrain from returning to their hometowns to prevent the outbreak from spreading farther across the country.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – The Surabaya District Court has sentenced Ali Shodiqin, the former junior high school principal of the Surabaya State University Labschool (Labschool Unesa) in the East Java capital, to 10 months in prison after it found him guilty of sexually abusing six students.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Though the government has yet to decide whether to ban this year's Idul Fitri mudik (exodus), many Jakarta workers have reportedly returned to their hometowns across Java despite warnings against traveling and public gatherings.

Yudha Baskoro – The Jakarta provincial government has issued its standard funeral procedures to bury Covid-19 victims.

The procedures will also be used in the burials of suspect coronavirus patients, officially called "patients under observations" (PDP), who die before they could be swab-tested for Covid-19.

Tara Marchelin, Jakarta – The Trade Ministry's data from 34 provinces are showing a reasonable national average price for staple food, except for sugar and garlic that have shown a significant increase.

The ministry's domestic trade director-general Suhanto said the government will ensure there's enough supply of staple food during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Environmental experts have warned of a resurgence in illegal logging in Indonesia after the government declared that wood exports would no longer have to comply with a stringent legality check that took a decade to put in place.

Some say love conquers all, and that may be especially true now during the coronavirus pandemic, as couples in Indonesia proceed with their marriage plans despite the very real possibility of getting infected.

Ganug Nugroho Adi, Surakarta, Central Java – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his family gathered on Thursday to pay their final respects to Jokowi's late mother, Sujiatmi Notomiharjo, who was laid to rest at Mundu cemetery in Gondangrejo subdistrict, Karanganyar, Central Java.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – A landslide hit Maulu hamlet in Rembon district, Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, on Thursday morning, killing a villager and destroying two houses.

Usman Tato, 65, was buried inside his house, which was located on a slope in the village, at around 4 a.m. local time.

Sausan Atika, Jakarta – The Jakarta Council has agreed to defer the search for Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan's deputy governor until April 6, after the city's COVID-19 state of emergency is set to end.

Jakarta – Working from home takes on a whole new meaning in the fight against graft in Indonesia, with courts moving to the virtual world to hear corruption cases. The trials will also be live-streamed to make them accessible for the general public.

Jakarta – The Cianjur Police criminal investigation unit has arrested four suspects, identified only by the initials IS, RN, YH and CR, for stealing hundreds of boxes of masks from Pagelaran General Hospital in Cianjur, West Java.

Cianjur Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Juang Andi Priyanto said three of the suspects were employees of the hospital and one was a civil servant.

Jakarta – The National Police have arrested four individuals allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) terror network in Batang regency, Central Java.

Jakarta – A video showing a family uncovering the shroud of a deceased woman suspected to have been COVID-19-positive in Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi went viral over social media.

The video, uploaded by several users onto Twitter, showed a family carrying the body of the dead patient into a house and later unwrapping the plastic from around it.

Benny Mawel and Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Papua – Papua is set to restrict entry into the province both through sea and air travel in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia's easternmost region.

Arya Dipa, Jakarta and Bandung – After receiving medical supplies from China, the country is set to hold COVID-19 tests in Jakarta, West Java and Banten, focusing on vulnerable groups including medical workers.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) will extend loan payment deadlines for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for up to one year to help them cope with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ivany Atina Arbi, Jakarta – At least five high-ranking central and regional government officials have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

Rizki Fachriansyah and Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The COVID-19 situation is already bad in Indonesia, which now has the highest death toll in Southeast Asia just a few weeks after declaring itself "virus-free". As of Wednesday, Indonesia had reported 686 cases with 55 deaths.

Jakarta – A total of 470 boxes of surgical masks have reportedly been stolen from Pagelaran General Hospital in Cianjur, West Java.

"When we checked the supply [of masks] for January to March, we found that 470 boxes were gone, 200 of which were supplies for February," director of the hospital Awie Darwizar said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara News Agency.

Jakarta – Despite various controversies and an allegation of ethical violations, police general Firli Bahuri was selected by the House of Representatives as the new chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the country's leading antigraft agency, last year.

Jakarta – The streets are almost empty, public places deserted and malls quiet in cities and regions across Indonesia as authorities have banned gatherings to wind down the spread of the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 600 people and killed 55 to date.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – A notorious joint ministerial decree that regulates the construction of houses of worship may be subject to a judicial review by the Supreme Court after going unchallenged for more than a decade.

Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups is calling on the House of Representatives to perform its checks and balances function during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the government's policies are on the right track.

Patrick O'Connor – East Timor recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 virus case on Saturday. The south-east Asian state is among the most impoverished in the world, with only minimal healthcare facilities. If the global pandemic sweeps through the country, there could be mass casualties.

Temboro (East Java) – Only the rider's eyes were visible from behind her black face veil. With a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right, she cantered her horse towards a target, aimed quickly and let fly. The arrow struck home with a resounding pop.

Tom Allard, Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia has a significant deficit in hospital beds, medical staff and intensive care facilities as health experts warn that it is primed to become a new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data reviewed by Reuters.

Jeffrey Hutton, Jakarta – On Monday (March 23), Indonesia's Ministry of State Owned Enterprises opened the 1,800-bed Covid-19 Emergency Hospital – repurposed over four days from the athlete's village that had originally been built for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

James Massola and Karuni Rompies – Indonesia is imploring its citizens not to panic and to practise social distancing and self-isolation, as the country's health system strains under the weight of rapidly rising infections.

Agustinus Hari, Markus Makur, Belseran Christ and Benny Mawel, Manado/Ambon/Jayapura – Several churches across Indonesia have decided to cancel their Easter celebrations, planned for the coming weeks, amid the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – Dozens of patients put under surveillance for COVID-19 crowded the emergency hospital at the Kemayoran athletes village in Central Jakarta after it opened on Monday.

Jakarta – To protect the economy from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has decided to speed up the disbursement of training funds for workers through the preemployment card program, as well as increase the allowance provided to low-income families.

Jakarta – The process of relocating Indonesia's capital city to East Kalimantan is to go on as planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic in the archipelago, the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister has said.

Suherdjoko and Arya Dipa, Jakarta – Indonesian companies have been working to make up for the shortage of protective health equipment for medical workers treating COVID-19 patients.

Riza Roidila Mufti, Jakarta – Concerned about spreading COVID-19 from the capital to villages across the country, the Transportation Ministry will not provide any travel assistance this year for people seeking to visit their hometowns for Idul Fitri.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – As COVID-19 spreads throughout the nation, the 20-second hand-washing routine has echoed across the airwaves and has been religiously inscribed on both conventional and social media.

Asip Hasani and Severianus Endi, Tulungagung, East Java/Pontianak, West Kalimantan – Villagers in Wajak Kidul hamlet, which is located some 10 kilometers from Tulungagung regency, East Java, have placed homemade masks around their homes as they believe the objects can protect them from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jakarta – The government has announced that it is providing full medical coverage for COVID-19 patients through the national health insurance provider, the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the decision was made because of BPJS Kesehatan's coverage capacity.

Adrian Wail Akhlas and Riska Rahman, Jakarta – The rupiah fluctuated at around 16,500 per US dollar on Tuesday despite a slight gain after falling sharply to near the 17,000-mark the previous day.