The Latest: Indonesia apologizes to citizens for virus

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin apologized to all Indonesians as the threat of COVID-19 in the country is not over yet.

As of Friday, the government announced there are 634 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 20,796. About 1,300 deaths and more than 5,000 recoveries have been recorded.

“We, the government, apologizes as the danger of coronavirus is not over yet. It is not easy to eliminate it. Besides it is difficult to fight the coronavirus, Indonesia has a high population number, compared to other ASEAN countries, and a wide region from Sabang to Merauke. Some of the Indonesians are also lacking discipline and not following the healthy protocol,” Amin said on Friday.

In the recorded video published at the daily video conference, Amin said the country is still dealing with the threat of COVID-19 and working on preventing the virus transmission, especially during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. People were asked to avoid mass gatherings during the celebration of the end of Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims.

“The government appeals to people to stay home during the Eid al-Fitr and not to go to the mosque or the open fields since we are...