It will decline, all based on the effort that the government has carried out through vaccination and the compliance to the health protocols by the publicJakarta (ANTARA) - Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo on Thursday said he is optimistic that the Omicron surge will not significantly affect economic growth during the first quarter of 2021.
"The economy during the first quarter of 2022 will grow relatively high," he forecast at a press conference following the February 2022 Governor Council Meeting.
"We fully believe that the government will do its best to quickly handle the Omicron (wave)," he said.
The Central Bank will continue to support the government's efforts, and urge all citizens to comply with the health protocols, he added.
According to Warjiyo, a collective effort is needed to immediately handle the Omicron variant, protect the people, recover public health, and recover the economy.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 will have an impact on the economy, especially in February 2022 when the virus will likely reach its peak, he added.
"It will decline, all based on the effort that the government has carried out through vaccination and the compliance to the health protocols by the public," he remarked.
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Hence, he expects that people's mobility, which has currently declined due to a surge in Omicron cases, will promptly recover by March at the least and remain so until the end of the year.
For this year overall, the economy will grow within the range of 4.7 percent to 5.5 percent, according to BI's estimate.
This will be supported by an increase in people's consumption as mobility rises after the Omicron wave passes, an increase in export and investment, and fiscal stimulus support from the government as well as monetary stimulus from BI, the central bank said.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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