TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in an event on Friday claimed the emergency public activity restriction (PPKM) the government imposed on July 3-20 was effective in reducing COVID-19 cases. He asserted that the government would never consider enacting a lockdown.

Indonesia is currently adopting a level-based PPKM restriction with slackened regulations for several micro business sectors.

“From the healthcare aspect we are able to handle it, but the economic side of things must continue on. Lockdowns like others have adopted is not possible as it means a total closure. Even during the emergency PPKM, which is a semi-lockdown, some regions have screamed asking to reopen it,” said the President in an event aired by the Presidential Secretariat’s Youtube channel on July 30.

According to Jokowi, the emergency PPKM is successful enough to drop the rate of COVID-19 and the hospital bed occupation ratio, which saw a surge prior to the restriction. The President implied that imposing a lockdown would not guarantee the spread of COVID-19 could be contained..

“We can at least slow down the rate of cases with the emergency PPKM, even though in a slow rate, but at least we can implement a ‘brake’,” said Jokowi, “I already personally checked it this morning and the bed occupancy ratio of the Wisma Atlet Hospital had plunged from 90 percent to 38 percent.”

Read: PPKM Relaxation; People's Mobility Increases by 30 Percent

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