JAKARTA — Indonesia's capital Jakarta announced a two-week extension of its state of emergency following the nationwide surge in coronavirus cases, its governor said on Saturday. Anies Baswedan told reporters on a video conference call that the state of emergency, imposed on March 20 to try to slow the spread of the virus in Southeast Asia’s biggest city, would be extended until April 19. "We're preparing ways to anticipate all possibilities that could happen in the city," Baswedan said. "We implore people of Jakarta to not leave Jakarta, especially for their home towns." Indonesia's chief security minister Mahfud MD said on Friday that the government was considering a plan to ban "mudik" - the tradition which sees millions of Indonesians leave towns and cities for their native villages at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in May.

Source: International New York Times March 28, 2020 09:56 UTC