Indonesia yesterday reported 14 more deaths from the coronavirus, making it the country with the highest number of fatalities in South-east Asia.

The death toll now stands at 19, ahead of the Philippines, which has recorded 17 deaths so far.

The spike in the number of deaths was due to hospitals not reporting fatalities from March 12 to 17, said Mr Achmad Yurianto, the government spokesman for the management of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

"We have rechecked the cases this morning and coordinated with all hospitals treating the patients... We have updated the data," he said in a news briefing.

Capital city Jakarta has the highest number of deaths so far at 12, while Central Java has reported two deaths. Another five provinces - Bali, Banten, West Java, East Java and North Sumatra - have recorded one death each, Mr Achmad added.

The number of confirmed cases also surged to 227 with 55 fresh cases, the highest single-day jump for new infections since the country announced its first two cases on March 2.

Mr Achmad said the new cases of infection, which he described as "a significant jump", came mostly from the capital (30 cases), followed by West Java (12 cases) and Banten (four cases). Other confirmed cases were also found in other provinces - Central Java, Lampung, North Sumatra, Riau, Yogyakarta and East Kalimantan.

Malaysia remains the worst-hit nation in the region, reporting two deaths and 790 confirmed cases as of yesterday. Thailand has 212 cases and one death, while the Philippines, which has imposed a lockdown on its main island of Luzon, has reported 202 cases and 17 deaths.

Mr Achmad, who is also the Health Ministry's director-general for disease control and prevention, said that the number of confirmed cases in Indonesia will likely jump significantly in the next few days as the authorities are intensifying their contact tracing efforts and people are now more aware of the pandemic, making them more likely to get tested.

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation with around 267 million people, had, as of Tuesday, tested more than 2,300 samples of suspected cases.

In addition to 132 referral hospitals nationwide, the government has appointed over 200 medical facilities to treat coronavirus patients, including military hospitals, police hospitals and hospitals operated by state-owned enterprises.

Meanwhile, three private hospitals have committed to deploying around 300 beds to treat virus patients, Mr Achmad said.

Indonesia has also announced that it will suspend its visa-free and visa-on-arrival arrangements for one month from tomorrow, as it seeks to contain the spread of the virus. This will require all foreigners - including tourists, businessmen and diplomats - to apply for a visa at Indonesia's overseas missions before travelling to the country.

It has also banned the entry and transit of foreign nationals who have been in Iran and seven countries in Europe - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Vatican and Britain - in the past 14 days.

Previous restrictions on travellers from China and South Korea's Daegu city and Gyeongsangbuk-do province remain in place.