VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

More than a quarter of Myanmar's prison population is being released, the president's office announced Friday, after calls grew to ease pressure on overcrowded jails with coronavirus fears gripping the country. Myanmar grants an annual amnesty to thousands of prisoners to mark its April New Year holiday, but this is the largest recorded in recent years. It comes as governments around the world -- including the US, parts of Europe, and Colombia -- grapple with overcrowded prisons as fears spiral of virus outbreaks behind bars. A statement Friday from the president's office stated that  to mark Myanmar New Year, by respecting humanitarian ground and peace in mind of the people, the president pardons altogether 24,896 prisoners from various prisons//AFP

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated last year, has raised its official COVID-19 death toll by 50 percent, adding 1,290 fatalities. Wuhan officials attributed the new figure to updated reporting and deaths outside hospitals. China has insisted there was no cover-up. Wuhan's 11 million residents spent months in strict lockdown conditions, which have only recently been eased. The latest official figures bring the death toll in the city in China's central Hubei province to 3,869, increasing the national total to more than 4,600. China has confirmed nearly 84,000 coronavirus infections, the seventh-highest globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In a statement released on Friday, officials in Wuhan said the revised figures were the result of new data received from multiple sources, including records kept by funeral homes and prisons//AFP

Deputy Chairperson of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has urged the government, to give serious consideration to the recent spike in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases in Indonesia, which now exceed 41 thousand. She said in a statement  on Friday as quoted by Antara that she understands, that the government is currently facing complex and severe health issues, particularly the COVID-19 outbreak.

But, the trend of increasing number of dengue cases should not be ignored. Based on data provided by the Ministry of Health, the number of dengue cases has reached 41,883 as of April 14, 2020, which is much higher than last year, when the country recorded 40,425 cases. Lestari Moerdijat has called for vigilance as the death toll due to DHF has also been quite high. As of April 14, 2020, Indonesia has recorded 266 deaths compared to 354 last year//Ant

The Indonesian rupiah strengthened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank market on Friday morning, on the back of positive sentiment toward risk assets.The rupiah soared 202 points, or 1.29 percent, to Rp15,438 as compared to Rp15,640 per US dollar earlier."This morning, risk assets received a positive sentiment after some European countries and the US announced plans to lift the coronavirus lockdown, to revive their economy along with a slow pace of spread of coronavirus," Monex Investindo Futures Chief Researcher Ariston Tjendra stated in Jakarta on Friday as quoted by Antara.US President Donald Trump had recently announced a guide to lifting the coronavirus lockdown in three phases, and 29 states can lift it in the near future//Ant