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JAKARTA, Oct. 4 (The Jakarta Post / ANN): The shutdowns are unnecessary and can unduly harm the economy, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said as Indonesia’s Covid-19 outbreak enters its eighth month.
In a video posted on the official YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat, Jokowi reiterated that public health was the government’s number one priority, but added a caveat.
“Prioritizing health does not necessarily mean sacrificing the economy,” he said.
“Sacrificing the economy is the same as sacrificing the lives of tens of millions of people, which is not an option for us.”
He said his administration was constantly looking to find a “balanced” way to tackle the outbreak.
“So there is no need to act forcefully on the implementation of closures in provinces, regencies or cities because it will sacrifice people’s livelihoods. But we are still serious about preventing the outbreak from spreading further, ”he said.
He added that he believed that more “microscale” focused social restrictions were the most effective way to curb the transmission of Covid-19.
“We must make (the measures) more targeted, more specific, more precise and more focused to tackle the problem of COVID-19 without killing the economy and people’s livelihoods,” he said.
Jokowi’s pandemic policy has drawn widespread criticism from health experts and epidemiologists for leaning more toward economic recovery than the health crisis itself.
According to the official government tally, Indonesia has recorded 303,498 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 11,151 deaths as of Sunday.
Jokowi also insisted: “Public health must be number one. It must take priority.”
He also stressed that making public health a priority does not mean that the country must sacrifice economic aspects.
“If we sacrifice the economy, it is the same as sacrificing the lives of tens of millions of people,” said Widodo, who is commonly called Jokowi.
“This is not an option that we can make. Again, we have to find the right balance,” he added.
The president has called on his ministers to do more to respond to the crisis and urged people to submit complaints or suggestions to his administration. – The Jakarta Post / Asian News Network
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