TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Research and Technology Bambang Brodjonegoro said that all Indonesia can do now is wait for an announcement from the BPS to see if the economy has hit a recession. The BPS is scheduled to release economic data from the third quarter soon.

"We must take on numerous efforts to survive this pandemic while preparing strong foundations for our economy to run after the pandemic," Bambang said in an online discussion on virtual, Wednesday, September 23.

According to Bambang, Indonesia is experiencing economic disruptions with significant levels of corrections. Therefore, the minister said that the public must be "smart in reading the meaning of new normal".

"We must not interpret 'new normal' as going 'back to the past',"he remarked.

Doing so, he said, would lead the people to expect that the economy would be the same as before the pandemic. That is something that would take a very long time to happen, as Covid-19's rate of transmission in Indonesia is still very high.

Bambang offered solutions that can mitigate the significant economic impacts, in the form of technology and less-contact economy approaches.

Economic activities with minimum contact, he said, means combining economic activities with strict health protocols—allowing productivity and public safety.

"No more physical contact or face-to-face interactions. Replace them with IT," Bambang Brodjonegoro said.

Read also: Govt Predicts Indonesian COVID-19 Vaccine to be Ready in 2021

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