Secretary-General of the Indonesian Hospital Association (Persi) Lia Gardenia: adding more beds for Covid-19 patients will not solve the problem if the problems at the upstream are not resolved.

Below are excerpts from an interview with Sung Y. Kim, new United States Ambassador to Indonesia. Ambassador Sung Kim was born in Seoul to South Korean parents. Having spent the majority of his diplomatic career in Asia, he has a deep understanding of the region. This is his first interview with the local media since his arrival in Jakarta last June. He discussed vaccine assistance (to Indonesia), the weapon system procurement as well as cooperation for mitigating climate change issues.

At last, SOEs Minister Erick Thohir intervened and tackled the medical oxygen and Covid medication shortages that plagued many hospitals. Erick mobilized several SOEs to help meet the needs of referral hospitals particularly in Java. He also instructed Indofarma and Kimia Farma to boost ivermectin production to fill the market with ample supplies. Although the BPOM has not approved the drug, Erick is pushing its use given the efficacy and minimal side effects proven in several countries. Amid the marked increase in Covid cases, Erick, who also leads Covid-19 Mitigation and Economic Recovery Working Committee makes frequent rounds of site inspection to check on oxygen and Covid drug supplies, all the while continuing with measures to transform SOEs.

The explosion of new Covid-19 cases in the past month will see the increase in health care expenditure, mainly to purchase 400 million doses of vaccines and for patient treatment. The emergency has compelled Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to recalculate the budget as the health ministry increased its budget from Rp172 trillion to around Rp185 trillion. Having experienced in dealing with the 1997-1998 and 2008 financial crises, Sri Mulyani says the Covid-19 presents challenges that are starkly different from those of the previous economic calamities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed Indonesia’s demographics affecting the trends in the capital market. Indonesia Stock Exchange’s Commissioner Pandu Patria Sjahrir says enthusiasm of millennial and Gen Z investors has risen phenomenally during the pandemic. Since 2016, the number of young investors has grown to over 1.8 million with those aged 28 and below making up the highest increase. The rapid development of the digital technologies has opened the floodgates for tech companies and start-ups. One of the sectors most sought after by foreign investors is financial technology (fintech). Pandu, a businessman and an investor, who is also the chairman of Indonesian Fintech Association, says that in future fintech companies will not just focus on consumer lending but increase productive loans to support micro, small and medium enterprises through peer-to-peer lending.

Chairman of Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) Aman Bhakti Pulungan is concerned about the rising cases of Covid-19 among children in Indonesia. According to IDAI’s record, around 117,000 children have been infected since the pandemic struck. Children makes up 12.5 percent of the total cases. Aman says children are most vulnerable to the disease via their parents and the people around them. He observes that many pediatric patients with Covid-19 go to doctors rather late rendering the doctors unable to offer maximal treatment. Given the recent surge in the cases, Aman urges the government to put on hold face-to-face classes scheduled to resume in July.