August 10, 2021
PPKM extended to August 16; Bali remains under Level 4 restrictions + Mall, restaurant visitors will be asked to show vaccination status + Australian expats denied permission to return overseas + more
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*Note: With yesterday’s 1,018 cases, Bali has now seen 15 days in a row with cases over 1,000. Of the 40 deaths reported yesterday, 10 had a history of domestic travel and 2 a history of overseas travel. The 7-day case average is now 1,244, and there have been 330 deaths so far this month, meaning August is already more than halfway towards reaching last month’s total fatalities of 591.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers. And in case you missed it, check out Sunday’s update for a summary of last week’s overall totals, with perspective on how they stack up against previous weeks, detailed breakdowns of the virus’ spread on a Regency-by-Regency level, and the national task force’s risk assessment for each district/city across the country.
The Big News
"Indonesia Extends PPKM Amid Death Toll Concerns" from The Jakarta Globe: The Indonesian government announced on Monday that social restrictions across Java and Bali are extended by another week despite a steady decline in newly Covid-19 cases, citing the persistently high daily death toll. For certain districts and cities on other islands, the extended lockdown will last two weeks due to an uptick in new cases. “The challenges we are facing outside Java and Bali are much bigger, for example the health infrastructural support,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said. Luhut, who is tasked of leading Covid-19 response in Java and Bali, claimed there has been a significant decline in newly cases since the partial lockdown was imposed on July 3. “According to data, there is a 59.6 percent decline in the number of new cases compared to July 15, 2021,” Luhut said, referring to the date when the country saw a record 56,757 cases in a single day. President Joko Widodo has decided to extend restrictions until August 16 to “maintain the momentum” and reduce fatality rate, Luhut said.
Context: You can watch Luhut's announcement about the PPKM extension here.
"Mall, Restaurant Visitors Will Be Asked to Show Vaccination Status" from The Jakarta Globe: The Indonesian government plans stricter measures to limit public mobility and gathering during the raging Covid-19 outbreak by requiring its citizens to show their vaccination status when entering public facilities. When announcing the plan, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin compared it to the separation of smokers and non-smokers at eateries. “There will be a screening procedure to check whether or not the person is vaccinated. Vaccinated people are entitled to more relaxed protocols than unvaccinated ones,” Budi said. "For vaccinated visitors, they may have a table for four and be allowed to unmask, while unvaccinated visitors are limited to two per table and seated at outdoor area,” he explained. The ruling will be trialed under a pilot project covering six areas: trade, such as malls, grocery stores, and traditional markets; offices and industrial areas; public transportation; hospitalities such as hotels, restaurants, and resort areas; religious activities; and education. Its implementation is supported by government-sponsored digital application “PeduliLindungi” (to care and protect) which provides real-time vaccination and Covid diagnostic test status of all citizens, Budi said.
Context: The Chair of the Bali Shopping Center Management Association (APPBI) has said that the association has coordinated with PeduliLindungi, and that at a later date malls in Bali will display a QR code at entrances to be scanned by visitors. "Those who already have a vaccine certificate can enter the (mall)," he said. There have been no reports so far of how the pilot project will be rolled out in other areas in Bali. The central government is trialing the opening of malls to vaccinated visitors with 25% capacity in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and Semarang. Download PeduliLindungi for Android here and iOS here.
"Australians Who Live Abroad Denied Permission to Return Overseas Despite Promises" from The Sydney Morning Herald: Australians who live abroad have been denied permission to leave the country after a sudden rule change last week, contradicting a promise made by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews. The Herald and The Age have so far seen four refusals for travel exemptions for Australians who usually live overseas. Ms Andrews earlier promised the federal government would approve exemptions for people who were ordinarily a resident overseas. When news of the change emerged, it caught expats in Australia off guard. Many people have scrambled to get COVID-19 tests and rebook flights to beat the deadline, while others rushed to submit exemption applications. Despite the minister’s assurances on Saturday, there have been rejections as well as approvals since.
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Other Headlines
"Covid-19 Cases in Bali and Greater Malang Have Not Dropped, Luhut: I Will Visit Both" from Kompas (Indonesian): Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan revealed that Covid-19 cases in Bali and Greater Malang had not decreased. Therefore, Luhut plans to visit the two areas to provide further intervention. "Furthermore, I need to explain that the decline in cases and hospital care has also occurred in a number of agglomerations in Java-Bali. Except there are still problems in Malang Raya and also in Bali," he said. "For this reason, the government will immediately intervene in these two areas to reduce the rate of additional cases. Our team is now moving there. And I myself will also go to visit these two areas," Luhut continued.
Vaccination Update
"How the Global Vaccine Divide is Fueling Indonesia’s Coronavirus Catastrophe" from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Of the nearly 70 million shots administered in Indonesia to date, the first 23 million were given over 100 days, the second 23 million took 50 days, and the last 23 million were delivered in just 25 days. The health ministry estimates that it can dispense up to 5 million jabs a day if effective containment measures can relieve pressure on overwhelmed health facilities. The acceleration of Indonesia’s vaccination program offers hope, but the path forward is impeded by an acute shortage of doses. Just last week, vaccinations were temporarily suspended in some parts of the country when doses ran out. This setback comes at a critical time when the Delta variant is running rampant in rural areas and small towns and a large number of people are lining up to demand shots. Behind Indonesia’s vaccine shortage is jarring global inequity. Hedging their bets, rich nations placed large orders with multiple vaccine manufacturers early on in the pandemic. The United States, EU countries, UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan reportedly procured 1 billion extra doses of high-efficacy vaccines, effectively blocking developing countries from purchasing Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
More...
Nation: "Minister Confirms 11.3% of Target Population Fully Vaccinated" from Antara
Nation: "Govt Removes Gotong Royong Vaccination Rules for Paid Inoculation" from Antara
Nation: "Government Expedites Vaccination at Economic Hubs" from Antara
Province: "Bali Vaccination Phase II Achievement Still Below 50%" from IDN Times Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Dose II Vaccination Continues to be Intensive in a Number of Villages" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "More Than 100 Health Workers at Jembrana General Hospital Have Not Been Able to Get Third Stage of Covid-19 Vaccine" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"Over a Month of PPKM, Denpasar City Fails to Meet Tracing-Testing Target" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Mayor of Denpasar, IGN Jaya Negara, admitted that testing standards could not be met, for example, the increase in cases every day was an average of 400 people, so a minimum of 6000 tracings had to be carried out per day. This is a challenge because tracing in Denpasar City can only accommodate 1,000 people. Jaya Negara has also assigned the head of the environment to help tracing, unfortunately, the head of the environment has also been exposed to Covid-19. In a week, August 2-8, 2021, there were 3,461 additional cases. Thus, the average daily addition of cases is 494. Thus, the number of tracing and testing in Denpasar City should be above 6,000. In fact, based on the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 27 of 2021 concerning PPKM Levels 4, 3, 2, Denpasar City was given a testing target of 2,137 people per day. The minimum target was not achieved. Spokesman for the Denpasar City Covid-19 Task Force, I Dewa Gede Rai said it is undeniable that active cases in Denpasar City are still relatively high.
More...
Nation: "WHO Sends 700 Oxygen Concentrators to Indonesia" from Antara (Indonesian)
Province: "Bali Receives 32 Tons of Oxygen, Distribution to Hospitals Escorted by Police" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "BOR at Mangusada Hospital is Full, Cannot Accept Referral Patients" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Maintain Health of OTG-GR Patients, Task Force Will Implement Telemedicine" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Denpasar Satpol Pp Closed Two Nightclubs Related to PPKM" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "6 Months of Unpaid Honoriams, Covid-19 Burial Officers Angry" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "Covid Rises, Karangasem Prepares 171 Central Isolation Beds for Each District" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Benefits of Seaweed Cultivation for Indonesian Economy" from Antara: Indonesia is blessed with abundant seaweed reserves. The seaweed habitat in Indonesia is known to have reached 1.2 million hectares, making it the largest in the world. In fact, Indonesia's seaweed reserves are estimated to account for 8.6 percent of the total biota in the oceans. Seaweed can not only be used as a food, it can also be used as a raw material in the cosmetics industry, such as for making gels. It can even be put to medicinal use by the pharmaceutical industry. According to the Director General of Marine and Fishery Product Competitiveness at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Artati Widiarti, seaweed innovation can be used to tackle several global issues such as plastic waste and climate change, which can be an opportunity for entrepreneurs in the marine sector.
More...
Nation: "Indonesian Govt Pushes for More Women in Industrial Sector" from Antara
Nation: "Govt Finally Launches Revamped OSS for Business Licensing" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: "Tokopedia Doubles Down on E-groceries Business" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Education
"Education Ministry Dispatches 970 Indonesian Students to 28 Countries" from Antara: Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim has dispatched 970 Indonesian students to participate in exchange programs at 59 world-class universities in 28 countries. "I congratulate the 970 students from 98 universities in Indonesia who have passed the selection program of the Indonesia International Student Mobility Award (IISMA)," Makarim said. "In 2021 and 2022, they will take part in an exchange program at 59 world-class universities in 28 countries. It is amazing," he added. This batch of students is part of the first IISMA organized by the Education Ministry. Through the program, Indonesian students can realize their dreams of attending leading universities, developing cross-cultural skills, strengthening global networks, and preparing themselves for the working world, he stressed. Makarim further added that the students’ achievements are exceptional, because they were selected from 2,551 candidates who participated in the program throughout Indonesia.
"PHDI-MDA Issues Circular on Ritual Restrictions Responding to High Covid-19 Cases" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Bali Province together with the Bali Province Traditional Village Council issued a Joint Circular regarding restrictions on the implementation of religious rituals or five-day ceremonies, responding to the high number of new cases of Covid-19 on the Island of the Gods. "Efforts need to be made to limit activities that have the potential to cause transmission of the Delta Covid-19 variant virus for the sake of safety and mutual serenity as well as saving the lives of Balinese citizens," said Chairman of the Bali Province PHDI Prof Dr I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana.
"Inspectorate Explores Alleged Waste of Mask Budget at Bali Health Office" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Responding to news regarding the perceived waste of budget in the procurement of masks at the Bali Provincial Health Office (Dinkes) during the Covid-19 pandemic, Head of the Bali Province Communication, Information and Statistics (Kominfos) Gede Pramana stated that the Bali Provincial Government has taken action by assigning the Bali Provincial Inspectorate to conduct an examination and at the same time ensure the truth of this matter. Pramana explained that the emergence of this information was in accordance with the authority of the Bali Provincial Inspector as the Government's Internal Supervision Apparatus (APIP) to follow up on information that raised allegations of inappropriate procedures related to the procurement of masks by the Bali Provincial Health Office. "Immediately after being examined, the results of the examination will be reported," said Pramana.
Of Interest
"List of Updated 2021 National Holidays" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
"This is the Schedule, Peak of Perseid Meteor Shower Can be Seen With the Naked Eye" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Jakarta Police Calls Jerinx in for Questioning as Suspect in Alleged Threat Case" from Coconuts Bali
"Olympic Medalists Offered Job as Civil Servants" from The Jakarta Globe
"Russian Foreigners Lost on Mount Sanghyang, Finally Found by Search and Rescue Team" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
"Debt-ridden Bogor Woman Forced to Give Up Grandkids for Collateral" from Coconuts Jakarta
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 with Bali Solidarity. 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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