Indonesia Stumbles As Coronavirus Cases Surge

Lack of testing, mixed messages from the government and a rush to reopen.

No, not the U.S., but Indonesia, which has been hit far worse by the coronavirus than any country in Southeast Asia—more than 80,000 confirmed cases with over 3,200 dead.

Epidemiologists say it didn't have to be that way.

"We have a lot of big, missed opportunities," says Pandu Riono at the University of Indonesia. "If you want to protect the people, do something seriously and do something right."

Indonesia's central government, he says, hasn't done much of either.

As the coronavirus started sweeping the world in February, Indonesia's health minister stubbornly insisted the country was virus-free and that prayer was keeping it away. Indonesia continued to welcome thousands of visitors from China, the center of the pandemic.