Indonesia Corona Virus Update #8       April 20, 2020

Number of reported cases:  6750 (as of April 20)   590 Deaths  747 Recoveries 

  •  Testing: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday officially requested for provincial administrations to conduct large-scale COVID-19 tests which will help the government map out the spread of the coronavirus in Indonesia. “The first thing I would like to assert is the importance of each Indonesian provinces, districts, and cities to conduct massive (coronavirus) sample tests,” said the president in opening the weekly meeting with the COVID-19 mitigation acceleration task force on April 20.
  • Rupiah: $15,840    Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 4623
  • Inflation: In March 2020 there was an inflation of 0.10 percent. The inflation rate for the year 2020 is 0.76 percent and the year-on-year inflation rate (March 2020 against March 2019) is 2.96 percent
  • Mass Prayers Canceled: Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, SEA’s largest, has scrapped the mass daily evening prayers that occur during Ramadan. Other suspended programs included mass iftar or breaking the fast together, religious lectures, dawn or fajr lectures, interactive dialogues, and Eid Al-Fitr prayers.
  • Enforcement Difficulties: The head of the national task force for COVID-19 mitigation, Doni Monardo, admitted that the enforcement of the large-scale social restrictions or PSBB in Jakarta has not run effectively yet. “Offices and factories do not optimally comply with [PSBB orders] so that transportation modes are still packed,” said Doni after a teleconference meeting on the weekly report of the task force on Monday, April
  • S&P Lowers Rating: S&P Global Ratings on Friday revised Indonesia’s credit rating outlook to “negative” from “stable”, indicating the rising financial risks the country faces as it ramps up government spending in response to the coronavirus outbreak.  In response BI Governor Perry Warjiyo commented, downgrade of Indonesia’s outlook is not a reflection of fundamental economic problems,  “The lingering economic and financial uncertainty is a global phenomenon and Indonesia is one of many countries that have taken policy responses in the area of fiscal, monetary and financial policy to mitigate the negative impact of the spread of COVID-19”.
  • Fitch Growth Prediction: In line with what Indonesia’s Finance Ministry predicts Fitch Solutions has downgraded Indonesia’s economic growth projection to 2.8 percent, down from its initial projection of 4.2 percent, as consumption and investment growth are expected to slow amid weakening global economic expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Job Creation Bill Protest: Millions of workers across the country are planning to break social-distancing rules and stage nationwide rallies on April 30 to press lawmakers to suspend deliberation of the controversial omnibus bill on job creation.