Sri Mulyani: Java-Bali Social Restrictions Now, Or It Will Get Worse

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government must push through with the plan to enforce large-scale social restrictions in Java and Bali, even though it will cause the economy to weaken. Otherwise, she said, things will only get worse.

"Of course it will affect the economy. But if we don't do it, things will only be getting worse and the economy will suffer. We don't have a lot of options here," she said in a videoconference on Wednesday, January 6.

In this situation, Sri said, the best thing is for the people to adhere to rules and be more disciplined; staying home as much as possible and ordering take-out to eat at home as opposed to dining out in restaurants. 

She reminded the public to keep wearing masks and maintain physical distances and wash hands often, especially after more than 10 months into the pandemic, where people have become tired and less mindful of the situation.

Indonesian authorities have decided to heavily restrict people in several districts of Java and Bali from January 11 to 25, including the Jakarta Greater Area. 

In a meeting at the State Palace today, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that most cities/regencies in Java and Bali tick at least one of the four parameters requiring mobility restrictions on a large scale. 

The four parameters are death rate above the national average mortality rate of 3 percent, recovery rate below the national average of 82 percent, active cases rate of more than 14 percent, and hospital/ICU beds capacity exceeding 70 percent.

Read: Vaccine Arrival Isn't an Instant Control Over COVID-19: Sri Mulyani

Caesar Akbar