Teuku Riefky: Handling the Pandemic, Economists Ask the Government to Learn from Other Countries

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – (17/8/2021) The government should be able to learn from other countries in dealing with Covid-19 if they really want the economy to really recover. The pandemic that has lasted for 1.5 years is no longer being responded to with less mature policies.

LPEM FEB UI Macroeconomic and Financial Market Economist Teuku Riefky said that at this time, the government seemed unprepared. The wave of cases that are hitting Indonesia seemed to be anticipated and handled poorly. “Compare our case with New Zealand, England, or Singapore. They are affected by the surge in cases of the Delta variant, but they don’t have to shut down the economy.” he said when contacted, Tuesday (17/8/2021).

Riefky explained that this was because these countries had completed their health care prerequistes. Facilities and vaccinations have been optimally taken care of.

That is why when there is a new virulent variant, their health and economy are not too disrupted. Their health care issues were solved before the Delta variant spread globally. This is in contrast to Indonesia. No wonder it makes the country very vulnerable if there are new problems.

In fact, according to Riefky, this issue is already known to the public. The government is not facing a new problem. Covid-19 has been in our midst since last year. Therefore, health should be the focus before worrying about the economy.

“Well, this is what Indonesia hasn’t done yet. We are still struggling with health facilities. In the short term, this needs to be addressed appropriately. After that, we will talk about other aspects.” he explained.

Source: https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20210817/9/1430808/handling-pandemi-ekonom-minta-governmental-learning-dari-negara-lain

(am)