Dyaning Pangestika, Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis has issued an edict announcing that the police will take strict action against people who conduct mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the edict, dated March 19, Idham urged the public to refrain from organizing mass gatherings in public places or private properties.

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – If the Indonesian authorities failed to take drastic measures to slow down the spread of COVID-19, the country could have tens of thousands of cases by April, or shortly before Idul the Fitri holiday, scientists have warned.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Makers of jamu (herbal medicine) in the Wonolopo jamu village in Semarang, Central Java, have started producing a drink they claim can provide protection against COVID-19.

The drink, called Jamu Corona, was concocted based on doctors' suggestions for herbal recipes that can help strengthen the body's immune system against viruses, they said.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) wants the death penalty for people convicted of corruption during the COVID-19 outbreak, in a stark turnabout from its recent focus on prevention instead of actively pursuing investigations.

According to KPK chairman Firli Bahuri, the agency will be going for the maximum penalty allowed under the law.

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Bali's provincial administration is urging tourist destinations on the resort island to suspend their operations over the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Jakarta – Indonesia has turned its "Athlete's Village" built for the 2018 Asian Games into an emergency hospital with a capacity to hold more than 4,000 patients, authorities said on Sunday, as coronavirus cases and deaths in the country rose.

Antara, Jakarta – The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) has urged the government to postpone some of the procedural formalities in the regional head elections (pilkada) in wake of the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

Antara, Jakarta – An Indonesian Air Force Hercules C-130 plane left Pudong International Airport in Shanghai early Sunday, carrying 9 tons of medical assistance from China to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has declared a two-week state of emergency in the capital and urged offices to suspend operations as part of COVID-19 containment efforts, but questions persist over whether companies will comply with the directive given the lack of enforcement.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – On Saturday afternoon, Stefania Fanya Magis, her older sister and their two parents put on their best outfits as if they were going to their local church.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's lack of a clear and comprehensive plan to contain the COVID-19 coronavirus has both allies and critics calling for better solutions to avert the deeper crisis of a loss of public confidence.

Rizki Fachriansyah, Apriadi Gunawan and Asip Hasani, Jakarta – The COVID-19 coronavirus has put a massive strain on Indonesia's healthcare system, with reports of inadequate medical supplies and the deaths of hospital workers as patient numbers continue to surge.

Jakarta – The Jami' Ar-Rahmah mosque located in East Tebet subdistrict in Tebet, South Jakarta, insisted on gathering dozens of local residents for Friday prayer, even though the subdistrict had one confirmed case COVID-19.

Jeffrey Hutton, Jakarta – At the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in central Jakarta, news that the government is introducing rapid testing for the new coronavirus, which causes the deadly Covid-19, could not have come soon enough.

Jakarta – The government said it was ready to disburse Rp 38 trillion (US$2.3 billion) for social safety net programs to help about 70 million underprivileged citizens cope with the financial impacts of COVID-19.

Adrian Wail Akhlas and Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – The rupiah breached Rp 16,000 against the US dollar on Friday, the weakest since the 1998 crisis, taking its toll on central bank reserves, corporate debt obligations and import-reliant industries as the COVID-19 pandemic prompts an Indonesian asset selloff.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has extended its recess period for seven days until March 29 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Jakarta – which house the House compound – being the hardest-hit area in the country.

The recess period, which started on Feb. 28, was initially scheduled to end on March 22.

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Balinese authorities have confirmed that a French national who died on the resort island six days ago tested positive for COVID-19 post-mortem.

His body was found on top of a motorcycle on a sidewalk on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Denpasar on Sunday.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration must make the case for a lockdown in Indonesia as the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to overrun health systems and put a strain on the economy, which may lead to social unrest, according to a recent report by a London-based business consulting group, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Asip Hasani, Tulungagung, East Java – Tulungagung Police in East Java arrested a fisherman for catching nine long-beaked common dolphins from the sea to be sold to a local fish trader.

The dolphin is included in the list of protected plants and animals in a 2018 environment and forestry ministerial regulation.

Dili – East Timor reported its first case of coronavirus, its Ministry of Health said on Saturday, adding that the case was from someone who had just returned from abroad.

The ministry said the patient posed little risk to the public, as he immediately consulted with doctors after showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia has estimated the number of people who have had possible contact with Covid-19 suspects to be at more than half a million, as a two-week emergency was declared in its capital Jakarta.

Jun Suzuki, Jakarta – Ride-hailing drivers and others working in Indonesia's informal economy have lost work after the government responded this week to the coronavirus pandemic by urging people to work from home if possible.

Randy Mulyanto – I Gusti Ngurah Adi Mahendra, the owner of a tour agency in the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, has lost 80 per cent of his income after receiving mass cancellations from clients amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Len Garae – The Vanuatu West Papua Association and Unification Committee (VWPAUC) Chairman, Pastor Allan Nafuki, has welcomed two new young members into the West Papua Struggle; late Andy Ayamiseba's second born son, Harold Ayamiseba and an Australian, Tom Young.

Yudha Baskoro – The busy Indonesian capital has turned quiet since restrictions on work places and public gatherings were imposed on Friday due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Matthew LoCastro & Diovio Alfath – The UNHCR data says there are about 13,657 persons registered at the UNHCR Indonesia as refugees or asylum seekers.

Jakarta – Despite declaring an emergency status over the COVID-19 pandemic, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan needs to step up his game to seriously contain the spread of the disease over concerns that the public may not follow the instructions issued by his office, experts are saying.

Jakarta – Artists should focus on the management and curation of activities at Taman Ismail Marzuki post-revitalization. It's time to end the polemic over the rebuilding of the facility.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government warned on Saturday that asymptomatic persons may act as unsuspected carriers of the highly contagious Covid-19 virus, as positive cases jumped by 81 to 450 on Saturday.

Indonesia's Deputy Defense Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono assured that Jakarta has not canceled the purchase of 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.

He denied rumors that the purchase of Su-35 fighter jets from Russia was cancelled because the pressure from US officials. "We have never canceled it," Trenggono said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Jakarta residents remained at home on Saturday (March 21), a day after the city's governor declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said the government had officially kicked off rapid tests to detect COVID-19 on Friday afternoon.

He went on to say the first tests had been conducted in South Jakarta, considering that the area was very prone to the disease according to contact tracing carried out by the authorities.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The frame of a 45-meter-tall statue of Jesus in North Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, was dismantled Thursday following a court order that declared that the stalled project had constructions faults.

Gemma Holliani Cahya and Aman Rochman, Jakarta – On a Friday night several nurses were seen sitting on the floor of an intensive care unit (ICU) in a hospital in Jakarta. Near the ICU were the isolation rooms.

Jakarta – Unimpressed legal experts have called on the government to make the Indonesian justice system fairer despite the country's improved position in a global rule of law index.

Jakarta – Most mosques in Tangerang, Banten are holding Friday prayers on March 20 despite a warning from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to suspend the mass prayers, especially in areas hit by COVID-19.

Jakarta – Talk of sex is still taboo in most parts of predominantly Muslim Indonesia, but over the past few years the country has borne witness to a growing conversation on sexuality led by a younger generation of women.

Jakarta – The National Police have named 30 individuals across the country by Thursday as suspects for allegedly spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We named 22 suspects for allegedly spreading fake news on Tuesday. We named eight more on Thursday," National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Asep Adi Saputra told journalists on Thursday.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Home Minister Tito Karnavian is urging village heads and local leaders to speed up their budget proposals to immediately get transfers from the central government and reallocate spending to prioritize the mitigation of COVID-19.

Jakarta – Several Blora Legislative Council members from Blora regency, Central Java, have refused to take a screening test of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) administered by the regency's health agency as a precautionary measure following their domestic working trips.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has bought about Rp 163 trillion (US$10.1 billion) worth of government bonds to stabilize the country's financial market amid foreign investors' selling spree over COVID-19 fears.

Jakarta – The effect of social distancing and the work-from-home policy has created a significant decrease in the number of public transportation passengers, the Transportation Ministry reported.

"There has been a drop of about 40 to 70 percent," the ministry's spokesperson, Adita Irawati said in a written statement published by the ministry on Friday.

Depok, Indonesia – While many Muslims in Indonesia's capital accepted advice to avoid religious gatherings and prayed at home on Friday elsewhere in the world's most populous Muslim country, people ignored the risk of coronavirus and crowded into their mosques.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – A number of mosques in Jakarta have disregarded appeals by Governor Anies Baswedan to cancel Friday prayers for two weeks aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has so far killed at least 17 people in the capital.

I Nyoman Sutarsa, Atin Prabandari and Fina Itriyati – The spread of COVID-19 continues to unfold across the globe. More than 209,000 people in 168 countries have been infected. The disease has recorded a fatality rate of more than 4% as 8,600 people have died from the disease.

Protesters targeted the Indonesian magazine company, Tempo following the paper's publication on a politician allegedly involved with money laundering. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia urge the protesters to resolve the complaint through the Press Council.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – South Sulawesi health authorities put the participants of a suspended international Islamic event in Pakkato village, Bontomaranmu district, Gowa regency into isolation wards in several locations on Thursday.

The Leader of Opposition Hon. Matthew Wale on Thursday met with the Spokesperson for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Mr. Jacob Rumbiak.

Mr. Rumbiak updated Hon. Wale on the human rights situation in West Papua, and the ongoing struggle for self-determination by West Papuans.

Jakarta – Indonesia's death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 32 with 369 cases reported nationwide on Friday, as the novel coronavirus spread to 17 of the country's provinces, half of the total 34 provinces in the archipelago.