Indonesia calls for more coronavirus testing as deaths climb

A worker wearing facemask is cleaning a almost empty restaurant in a well-known mall in Jakarta. Faced by a rising death toll from coronavirus and a big jump in infections, Indonesia's president on Thursday (March 19) called for testing to be stepped up immediately in the country. - Reuters

JAKARTA: Faced by a rising death toll from coronavirus and a big jump in infections, Indonesia's president on Thursday (March 19) called for testing to be stepped up immediately in the world's fourth most populous country.

Less than three weeks since the country of more than 260 million announced its first case of the virus, its death toll had reached 25 - higher than in any other South-East Asian country.