Jakarta (ANTARA) – The pace of Indonesia’s economic recovery will depend on the policy the government implements for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher has said.
To revive the economy, the government must first focus on controlling the pandemic as new COVID-19 cases have continued to rise in the past few days, Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) researcher Pingkan Audrine Kosijungan advised here on Tuesday.
“The central and regional governments would better focus on three main processes — intensifying vaccinations, socializing the restriction policy, and implementing firm regulations,” she said.
In the current critical condition, the government needs to restrict public mobility in view of the limited capacity of hospitals and the limited number of healthcare workers in various parts of the country, she added.
“It is very important for the government to firmly and consistently disseminate its clear steps to the public and actively uphold the restriction policy in place,” she said.
On Monday, Indonesia’s daily COVID-19 cases hit a record high of 14,536. The country reported its first confirmed coronavirus cases in March, 2020.
The surge in COVID-19 cases occurred after the Eid-al-Fitr holidays. The number of daily cases jumped from 2,385 in mid-May, 2021 to top 10 thousand on June 17, 2021.
Indonesia’s economy has contracted since the second quarter of 2020, though it began showing an upward trend after the government introduced stimulus packages and a safety net.
Source: Antara News