TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati pinned hopes that Indonesia’s economy could start recovering in line with the decline in COVID-19 cases.

“Because honestly, PPKM (the public mobility restriction) that has been applied since July and early August creates tremendous impacts. Our public mobility drops by 17 percent,” said Sri in a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday, August 30.

She explained the figures showed that the significant surge in the COVID-19 trend deeply affected the economy. She thus asked all parties to continue controlling virus transmission.

“Everyone’s participation is vital through the discipline of health protocols and vaccinations,” the minister underlined.

The PPKM caused the retail and the recreation sectors to drop by 13 percent. The grocery and the pharmaceutical sectors, which usually saw a positive performance, also plummeted.

“The spending index calculated by Bank Mandiri fell to 73.3 from previously above 100. The BCA’s shopping transaction index also contracted by 6.02 percent,” she outlined.

The consumer’s confidence index also declined to below 100. “That is a very sharp drop,” said Sri, adding that the retail sales index also nosedived.

Thus, she said the government's policy of reopening shopping centers—under strict health protocols—is one of the economic recovery efforts, while hoping that the COVID-19 trend could still be under control.

“It is highly obvious that once COVID-19 cases rise, all socio-economic activities are smashed,” said Sri Mulyani. “So PPKM does create extraordinary consequences for all of us.”

Read: Sri Mulyani Predicts Economic Growth to Reach 4.5 Percent

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