Indef: PPKM Continues Because Government Prioritizes Health Over Economy, China Becomes An Example

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Program Director of the Institute For Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Esther Sri Astuti assesses that the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) must continue because restoration of public health must be a priority.

"The current pandemic warlords are actually the health sector, not the economy," Esther said during an online discussion in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday, July 26.

However, he said that it does not mean that the economic sector is not important, it's just that at this time the economy is not a sector that must be prioritized in the midst of increasing pandemic cases like today.

Esther believes that it will be useless if economic recovery is prioritized over health, because it is feared that there will be more victims.

"However much later the funds and energy spent will be wasted," he said.

Currently, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 3.17 million, relatively more than several countries in ASEAN such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore.

Therefore, PPKM must continue to be carried out until the COVID-19 case in the country can slope again.

He gave an example, China, which tightly closed its country when the pandemic spiked significantly, the country's economic growth contracted to 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

However, after the case had slowed down due to a tight closure, accelerated vaccinations, as well as tracing and testing were carried out to the maximum, the Panda country's economy managed to grow slowly.

"So don't be afraid for the government to do this PPKM," said Esther.