Indonesia declares financial assistance amid COVID-19 pandemic

Spraying disinfectant at a public place in Jakarta (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian government on April 9 announced a plan to support locals affected by the disruption of operations in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Speaking at a video press conference, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the government will spend 3.2 trillion rupiah (210 million USD) on purchasing necessary goods to provide for about 1.8 million households in Jakarta urban region (including Jakarta capital and its vicinity) for three months.

A total of 37.2 trillion rupiah will be also distributed to 19 million households living outside Jakarta region, and 360 billion rupiah to about 197,000 drivers of the public transport sector.

In the capital city, social distancing regulations officially took effect from April 9 midnight, and are expected to last for two weeks or more.

Meanwhile, The Thai government on April 10 morning confirmed 50 new cases of COVID-19 and one death, bringing the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 2,473, including 33 deaths.

The day before, the government said 15,000 Thai nationals abroad had registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and were waiting to return home after the country closed its border to contain the spread of pandemic.

According to the spokesperson of the Thai government Thaweesin Visanuyothin, more than 10,000 other Thai citizens are stuck in the Thailand-Malaysia border.

Meanwhile, the country’s Ministry of Interior announced that three more provinces namely Chiang Rai, Trang and Krabi have placed travel restrictions from April 9-30./.