Indonesia's Joko resist calls for lockdown despite state of emergency

Health workers, wearing makeshift protective gear against the spread of the coronavirus, spraying patients with disinfectant at a local clinic in South Tangerang, Indonesia, on Tuesday (March 31). - AP

JAKARTA: Indonesian leader Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency on Tuesday (March 31) as Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak deaths in the world's fourth most populous country jumped again, but he resisted calls for a nationwide lockdown.

Widodo's administration has been heavily criticised for not imposing lockdowns in major cities, including the capital Jakarta, a vast megalopolis home to about 30 million people where most of the country's virus deaths have been reported.