Emergency measures to check spread invoked in Jakarta

Direct check: Joko inspecting facilities at the emergency hospital at the Athlete’s Village in Kemayoran, Jakarta. — Reuters

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s capital has shut down cinemas and other public entertainment at the start of a two-week emergency period to try to slow the accelerating spread of the coronavirus in South-East Asia’s biggest city.

But the new measures, which include urging people to work from home, still fall short of the tougher lockdowns imposed by neighbouring countries amid concerns among some experts that the archipelago of 260 million people is not doing enough to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.