Government Cancels PPKM Level 3 At Christmas And New Year, Apindo: Effective Brake And Gas Policy

JAKARTA - The government has canceled the implementation of level 3 community activity restrictions (PPKM) during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Instead, the government determined that PPKM was carried out in accordance with the assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) supports the government's move.

Apindo Chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said that the government's decision was effective enough to balance the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national economy.

"The government's decision to cancel the implementation of PPKM level 3 during the Christmas and New Year holidays, which in my opinion is a brake and gas policy that is quite effectively implemented by the government," he said in a virtual press conference, Thursday, December 9.

On this occasion, Apindo Deputy General Chair Shinta Widjaja Kamdani also fully supports the government's policy of implementing restrictions in accordance with the conditions for handling COVID-19 in their respective regions.

Furthermore, Shita said restrictions must be applied based on various elements such as vaccination level, level of achieving herd immunity and others. According to him, it could be the government's attention. He said several sectors would be affected if the year-end restrictions were implemented.

Although there are no national-scale restrictions, Shinta said entrepreneurs are committed to strictly implementing health protocols so that the Christmas and New Year holidays do not increase the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

"On the one hand, we are disciplined, but we also open up opportunities for sectors related to mobility to run despite certain restrictions," he said.