Indonesia faces huge coronavirus surge, say experts, as capital declares emergency

A police officer wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant at a temple to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Padang, West Sumatera Province, Indonesia, in March 20, 2020 this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Iggoy el Fitra/ via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia likely faces a large surge in coronavirus cases after a slow government response masked the scale of the epidemic in the world's fourth most populous country, health experts say, as the capital, Jakarta, declared a state of emergency on Friday.

Less than three weeks after recording its first case, Indonesia had 369 confirmed cases and 32 deaths. Jakarta, a city of 10 million people, had 215 confirmed infections and 18 deaths.