Indonesian government moves to block COVID 'emergency brake'

Chief economic minister opposes Jakarta governor's new lockdown plan

20200910 Indonesia hospital

A medic inspects makeshift isolation rooms at Jakarta's Patriot Candrabhaga stadium that will become a quarantine facility for people showing symptoms of COVID-19 on Wednesday. © AP

ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- Indonesian central government officials are trying to thwart the Jakarta governor's plan to reinstate large-scale movement restrictions in the Indonesian capital from Monday, refuting his claim that hospitals are running out of beds for coronavirus patients.

Chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters Thursday that senior cabinet members and the governors of Jakarta and its surrounding provinces agreed there should be a "balance between COVID-19 preventive measures and economic recovery considerations."

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