VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta - The number of coronavirus deaths in Indonesia rose to 55 on Tuesday, while the number of positive cases climbed by 107 to 686, said Achmad Yurianto, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 response.

"There are 107 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 686," Yurianto said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The new cases were reported between March 23 and March 24.

The new COVID-19 cases emerged from Jakarta (70), East Java (10), Banten (9), North Sumatra (5), Central Java (4), Yogyakarta (1), West Java (1), West Kalimantan (1), Central Kalimantan (1), West Nusa Tenggara (1), South Sumatra (1), North Sulawesi (1), Riau (1), and Papua (1).

As there were no further reports of recovery, the number of patients who have recovered from the virus remained unchanged at 30, he said.

Yurianto noted that the Indonesian government had done its utmost to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Tuesday, the number of infections globally had crossed 392 thousand, with the death toll touching 17,147 and 103,393 patients recovering from the disease.

China recorded the highest number of cases at 81,171, followed by Italy with 63,927 cases, the United States 46,116, Spain 35,136, and Germany 29,056.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia recorded the most infections with 1,624 confirmed cases and 15 deaths, followed by Thailand with 827 cases and 4 deaths. (ANTARA) 

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic assesses the damage caused by the earthquake (BBC)

An earthquake has rocked Croatia's capital Zagreb, damaging buildings and leaving cars crushed by falling chunks of masonry.

A teenager is in a critical condition after a roof collapsed, local media say. The spire of the city's cathedral also snapped off.

After Sunday's tremor, Zagreb's mayor urged people to return to their homes given fears about the coronavirus.

The 5.3-magnitude quake is the largest to affect the city in 140 years.

Aside from the teenager, another sixteen people were injured.

Panicked residents ran out into the streets when it struck around 06:00 local time and were initially told to stay out by authorities.

"Keep your distance. Don't gather together. We are facing two serious crises, the earthquake and the epidemic," Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said.

However Mayor Milan Bandic later said they should return home. "Eighty per cent of Zagreb residents live in structures that have reinforced concrete structures," he said.

Several buildings were damaged, including the parliament. It will be out of action until further notice. Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic described the damage as "quite extensive".

The BBC's Guy Delauney in the region says the earthquake acted as a cue for some residents to head for their holiday homes on the coast.

But by early afternoon police had closed motorway toll booths and set up control points to prevent people entering coastal districts because of fears of spreading coronavirus, our correspondent reports.

Croatia has more than 200 Covid-19 infections.

People in southern Austria and Slovenia also felt the tremor. (BBC)

New Zealand said on Monday (Mar 23) it will move to its highest alert level imposing  self-isolation, with all-non-essential services, schools and offices to be shut over the next 48 hours as the number of coronavirus cases more than double.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said these decisions will place the most significant restriction on New Zealanders' movements in modern history, but it was needed to save lives and slow the virus.

"We are all now preparing to go into self-isolation as a nation," Ardern said in a news conference. She added that without these measures tens of thousands of New Zealanders could die.

The number of coronavirus cases in New Zealand shot up to 102, more than double since Friday, as the country reported 36 new infections. New Zealand has had no deaths.

Ardern said the cabinet agreed that effective immediately, the country of 5 million people would move into alert level 3 nationwide, and after 48 hours it will be at the highest level 4. New Zealand has already closed its borders to foreigners.

Ardern said all bars, restaurants, cafes, gyms, cinemas, pools, museums, libraries, playgrounds and any other place where the public congregate must close their face-to-face function.

She said supermarkets, doctors, pharmacies, service stations, access to essential banking services will all be available throughout New Zealand at every alert level.

"If you do not have immediate needs, do not go to the supermarket. It will be there for you today, tomorrow, and the day after that," she added.

The move comes after neighbouring Australia, which has thousands of COVID-19 cases, started lockdown measures on Monday, but has stopped short of self-isolation. (CNA)

Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday (Mar 22) to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, along with the city of Philadelphia.

The three states join New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey, home to 101 million Americans combined, as cases nationwide topped 33,000, with more than 415 dead, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. 

"Every piece of evidence that I can lay my hands on indicates that we're at an absolutely crucial time in this war and what we do now will make all the difference in the world," said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. "What we do now will slow this invader. It will slow this invader so our healthcare system ... will have time to treat casualties."

In the US Senate, partisan disagreement blocked a massive coronavirus response bill from advancing, with Democrats saying the Republican measure focused too heavily on helping corporations. But Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said he believed differences could be overcome in the next 24 hours.

Ohio has 351 cases and three deaths, while Louisiana has 837 cases and 20 deaths, several in a senior-care facility. Louisiana has the third-highest number of cases per capita and saw a 10-fold increase in cases in the past week, Governor John Bel Edwards said.

Ohio's order will go into effect at midnight EDT on Monday and stay in effect until Apr 6. Louisiana's order goes into effect at 5pm CDT on Monday and lasts through Apr 12. Delaware's order starts at 8am EDT on Tuesday.

Dallas County in Texas, home to more than 2.5 million people, and Philadelphia, with 1.6 million residents, told non-essential businesses on Sunday to close and residents to stay home.

In Kentucky, non-essential businesses must close by 8pm EDT on Monday but authorities stopped short of ordering residents to stay home.

Republican US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on Sunday became the first member of the Senate to announce he had tested positive for the coronavirus. At least two members of the House of Representatives previously said they tested positive.

Around the globe, billions are adapting to a new reality, with countries such as Italy, Spain and France on lockdown and several South American nations taking similar measures to try to stay ahead of the contagion, as global cases exceeded 325,000 and deaths topped 14,000.

The mayor of New York City, the epicentre of the nation's coronavirus epidemic, on Sunday described the outbreak as the biggest domestic crisis since the Great Depression and called for the US military to mobilise to help keep the healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.

"If we don't get more ventilators in the next 10 days, people will die who don't have to die," said Mayor Bill de Blasio, as the nation's most populous city saw COVID-19 cases top 9,600 and deaths climb to 63.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged the federal government to take over the acquisition of medical supplies so states do not have to compete with each other for desperately needed resources. (CNA)