Jakarta, April 8 -- The Indonesian Government will allow regional administrations to apply large-scale social restrictions to stem the spread of the new coronavirus disease as physical distancing has not been effective due to lack of public discipline.

"Physical distancing, which is the key to successful controlling of the transmission of COVID-19, needs to be strengthened since, in the past few days, it has been impeded by a lack of public discipline. Therefore, the government is letting regional administrations propose large-scale social distancing," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Ahmad Yurianto, said on Wednesday at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) building in Jakarta.

By allowing regional governments to appl...