Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said the country will bring in emergency measures running until July 20 aimed at containing an exponential spike in coronavirus cases that has strained the country's medical system, Reuters reports.

There has been a near vertical climb in virus cases in the world's fourth most populous nation in recent weeks, prompting health experts to warn that the outbreak could be as bad as India's devastating second wave if tighter measures are not introduced.

Grappling with the worst outbreak in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has reported a series of record daily Covid-19 cases since mid-June, with the 21,807 new cases in the last 24 hours, its biggest daily increase.