Indonesia has signed a A$1.5 billion (US$1.09 billion) loan deal with Australia’s government to be used to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the South-East Asian country, finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday.
“Everybody, all parts of society, are hurt by this Covid-19 (outbreak) and the role of fiscal policy together with other instruments, like monetary policy, is very critical during this difficult time,” Sri Mulyani said at a news conference.
Indonesia reported 3,770 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its total number of cases to 448,118, according to the country’s Covid-19 task force.
It also reported 75 more deaths, taking total fatalities to 14,836.
Indonesia’s total Covid-19 cases and also its death toll is the highest in South East-Asia and also among the highest in the Asian region.
