Sri Mulyani Sends Signals Social Restrictions Can Be Re-enacted: Projections Will Be Wrong

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Photo: Doc. Setkab)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani said the increase in daily cases of COVID-19 from late May to early June brought her own concerns about the realization of economic growth that had been determined by the government.

According to the Minister of Finance, the occupancy rate of the pandemic emergency hospital at the Wisma Atlet Jakarta Complex showed an increase after the momentum of Ramadan and Eid this year.

This is considered to have the potential to become an obstacle in building trust in the midst of the government's efforts to carry out economic recovery. According to the Minister of Finance's notes, the average daily case is currently at 5,797 cases.

“Some time ago, when I had a meeting at Banggar (DPR's Budget Agency), the occupancy rate of Wisma Atlet reached its lowest point of 15 percent in early May. Now in early June it has reached 33.6 percent," he said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the DPR at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday, May 21.

The Minister of Finance added that this condition could of course result in the failure of a number of economic indicators set by the government for next year.

"Until June the upward trend in daily cases must be controlled," he said.

In fact, he said he did not rule out the possibility of re-imposing social restrictions as at the beginning of the year when the daily number of COVID-19 cases had skyrocketed.

"Otherwise there will be conditions like last March, where we then have to tighten again and this will affect economic activities and economic projections that we have made so far," he explained.

On the other hand, the former boss of the World Bank and IMF said the target of 1 million vaccinations per day which has not been achieved has brought another pressure on the achievement of growth targets.

“Our vaccinations are still at 300,000 per day. Even though the government is aiming for 1 million per day to achieve herd immunity in the first quarter of 2022," he said.

"On the one hand, we are quite sure that the economic recovery will continue, but on the other hand, we must be realistic in 2022, which will be affected by vaccination targets and COVID-19 itself, which has a negative correlation with economic growth," concluded Sri Mulyani.