April 8, 2021
Island's Covid task force vows to "turn away" people traveling during Eid + Gianyar developing tracing app for tourists/tourist sites + Police summon Canggu cafe owners for health violations + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*Note: Although there was a slight drop from Tuesday’s number of new cases (236), yesterday’s total of 210 was the third time in the past week they have passed 200. Yesterday’s fatality rate (2) was the lowest it has been since March 7.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Bali Officials Ready to Turn Away Travelers Who Defy Mudik Ban" from Coconuts Bali: With Indonesia set to ban the annual homecoming exodus tradition next month, officials in Bali say the province will step up security measures at various ports of entry. Popularly known as mudik, this tradition coincides with the Eid al-Fitr holiday and saw around 30 million Indonesians visiting their hometowns annually before the pandemic. This year’s Eid holiday is expected to fall on May 13 and 14, with a collective leave day scheduled for May 12. “Points of entry will be guarded with heightened measures. [In Bali] this will be Ngurah Rai airport, in Gilimanuk [Port], and others,” said I Made Rentin, secretary of Bali’s COVID-19 task force.
Context: Minister of Transportation (Menhub), Budi Karya Sumadi, has said that if the government does not issue a ban on going home, 81 million people will return to their hometowns on the long Eid (Lebaran) holiday. The ban on mudik lasts for 12 days, namely 6-17 May 2021.
"Reopening Ubud, Gianyar Prepares Covid-19 Tracing Application for Tourists" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): The Gianyar government has prepared a security point at the regency entrance and an application that traces every tourist movement in preparation for reopening Ubud. The application will use a QR code that will be placed in every hotel, restaurant, shopping center and tourist attraction.
Context: This type of tracing app, which requires visitors to check-in at a range of public places by scanning a QR code, has been in place in countries such as Singapore since March 2020 and Australia since April 2020.
"Satpol PP Summon 12 Cafe Owners in Bali Who Open Until 4 in the Morning" from Kumpuran (Indonesian): The cafe owners were operating in the Canggu and Petitenget areas in Badung. Secretary of the COVID-19 Task Force Made Rentin assessed that the perpetrators had violated the business operating hours set by PPKM Mikro. If the cafe owners again commit violations of the prokes, they will be sanctioned with a fine of Rp. 1 million up to the threat of temporary withdrawal of the business location permit.
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Other Headlines
"Singapore Airlines Direct Flight to Bali Effective from 4th May" from Indonesia Expat: Singapore Airlines is reintroducing direct flights to and from Bali for the first time since March 2020, with operations resuming on a twice-weekly basis from 4th May 2021. However, flights will be limited to those eligible to enter Indonesia such as Indonesian nationals, holders of temporary or permanent residence visas (KITAS/KITAP), or an APEC Business Travel Card.
Context: For travelers from all countries/regions arriving in Singapore, these are the traveler types and Safe Travel Lanes that are applicable for general entry.
Vaccination Update
"Bali Provincial Health Office Receives an Additional 271,000 Doses of Sinovac Vaccine" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office (Dinskes), Dr. Ketut Suarjaya, said the doses would be distributed to all districts in Bali. He added that the achievements of [the first dose] of Covid-19 vaccination in the three areas designated as green zones, namely Ubud, Sanur and Nusa Dua, were close to 100%. "Currently, vaccination in the three areas is being boosted until it is targeted to be completed this week. We appeal to the Balinese people to support vaccination and not easily believe hoax news, for the sake of accelerating the economic recovery of the Balinese people.”
More…
Nation: "Over 9.1 Million Indonesians Get Covid-19 Jab" from Antara
Island: "Thousands of Bluebird Drivers in Bali and Lombok Were Injected With the Covid-19 Vaccine" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Targeted for Completion Before Galungan, Vaccination in Badung is Expanded to Target Kuta and South Kuta" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
Badung: "Hundreds of Badung Artists Participating in PKB Will Be Vaccinated" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "The First Dose of Covid-19 Vaccination in Buleleng Reached 112.6%" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Tabanan: "13,811 Tourism Workers in Tabanan Were Vaccinated Towards the Opening of Tanah Lot" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
Tabanan: "Still a Red Zone, Out of Budget, Tabanan Stops Quarantine at Hotels" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Bali Anticipates Galungan-Kuningan Clusters" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Covid-19 Handling Task Force is tightening the monitoring of health protocols applied during the Galungan (14 April 2021) and Kuningan (24 April 2021) holidays. For customary, artistic, and cultural activities, the government allows them to be carried out with a maximum capacity limitation of 50% and the application of stricter health protocols according to Village-Based PPKM, which was implemented on March 23, 2021 until an undetermined time. Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Handling Task Force, I Made Rentin, said, "We in the Task Force are still waiting for further directions from the Governor regarding PPKM, which is linked to holiday activities in Bali."
"Tegallinggah is Believed to Be the Center of Ancient Balinese Civilization in the Neolithic Period" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): This belief emerged from researchers at the Bali Archeology Center, along with the discovery of a sarcophagus in the village. The team from the Bali Archeology Center and the Bali Cultural Heritage Conservation Center (BPCB) found that the sarcophagus is unique. Head of the Denpasar Archeology Center, I Gusti Made Suarbhawa, said only people with certain status had the right to be buried using a sarcophagus. Uniquely, the rock material used as a sarcophagus is not found around Tegallinggah. "So it takes more energy to make a sarcophagus. You could say the civilization here was quite advanced at that time."
Of Interest
"Balinese Residents Raise Aid for Disaster Victims in East Nusa Tenggara" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Prof. Criminology Says a Year of Pandemic Caused Crime to Increase in Bali" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Move Over, Jakarta! Small Cities to Grow Indonesia's Digital Economy" from The Jakarta Post (Paywall)
"To Ensure Optimal 5G, Indonesia Needs 3 Layers of Radio Frequency Spectrum" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"West Java Court Sentences Iranian-led Drugs Gang to Death" from Agence France-Presse
"Human Rights Deteriorated in Indonesia in 2020: Amnesty" from The Jakarta Post (Paywall)
"The Provincial Government Decided Not to Recruit Balinese Language Instructors This Year" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
How You Can Help
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis, dozens of individuals and organizations have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to the innumerable families who have suddenly found themselves without any source of income. We've been making an effort to document and raise awareness of these efforts. We will add information on projects in this space as we are able to confirm them. If you'd like to see a list of the efforts that we've featured so far and contribute to them with either time or money, visit our complete list here. You can also see a list of projects that have registered themselves at BaliSolidarity.org. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.
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