President Jokowi: There Are Countries Whose Economy Has Not Decreased Due To COVID-19

President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. (Photo: Setkab)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia is not bad when compared to other countries that also have large populations.

"I can say that the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia is not bad, even good enough," said the President in a statement posted on the YouTube account of the Presidential Secretariat, quoted by Antara , in Jakarta, Saturday, October 3.

The President said that when compared to other countries with large populations, the spread cases and death rates due to COVID-19 in Indonesia are still better.

Based on the latest data as of October 2, for example, Indonesia is in 23rd position in the level of positive cases of COVID-19 from all countries in the world with a total of 295,499 cases.

Above Indonesia, there are a number of countries with large populations with the number of cases far adrift when compared to Indonesia. For example, the United States is in first place with 7,495,136 cases, followed by India with 6,397,896 cases, Brazil with 4,849,229 cases, and Russia with 1,194,643 cases.

"In terms of the economy, our achievements are not bad either. Our economy is declining, right. This is a fact. But which country has not decreased its economy (in this situation). In fact, there are many other countries that have to bear the economic burden even more," he said. Head of state.

In the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia's economic growth as of the second quarter of 2020, which recorded negative growth of 5.3 percent, was still more secure than neighboring countries such as Malaysia with minus 17.1 percent, the Philippines with minus 16.5 percent, Singapore with minus 13.2. percent, up to Thailand with minus 12.12 percent.

At the global level, there are also many countries that experienced negative growth with a much larger number, such as India which grew negatively at 23.9 percent to the United States with negative growth of 9.5 percent.

The President conveyed these things and the hard efforts made to deal with the pandemic by maintaining balance in every aspect should make all parties not to lose hope and still maintain optimism that Indonesia can quickly go through this big challenge.

"We must take lessons from this so that we also remain optimistic and do not lose hope. Once again I emphasize, we must be optimistic," said the President .

The President further emphasized that currently public health remains the government's top priority.

"Public health, public health, still number one, still must be prioritized. This is a priority," said the President.

Along with these priorities, the government is also taking measures to minimize the economic impact of the pandemic.

The Head of State emphasized that making public health a priority does not mean having to sacrifice economic aspects, especially if it is related to the life of the wider community.

"If we sacrifice the economy, it is tantamount to sacrificing the lives of tens of millions of people. This is not an option we can take. Once again, we must find the right balance," said President Joko Widodo.