August 13, 2021
Bali's cases still high; no tourists will come if this continues says Luhut + Indonesia has passed its Covid peak says task force + Rise in deaths due to unreported cases says health ministry + 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 1,353 new cases reported yesterday, Bali's official total passed 91,000. There were 260 domestic travelers and 16 international travelers among them. The 7-day average is now 1,215.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
Due to the national public holiday for Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17, there will be no morning edition on Monday and Tuesday. However, the evening Covid-19 Update will continue as usual.
The Big News
"Cases in Bali High, Luhut: If This Continues, No Tourists Will Come" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan [who has been tasked by the President with handling the pandemic in 9 provinces, including Bali] criticized the handling of Covid-19 in Bali. Luhut's criticism and evaluation are because he considers the handling of Covid-19 in Bali not optimal and even strange. “(Vaccination is) the highest in Bali, after that only in Jakarta. But in Jakarta the cases have dropped, but (in Bali) they haven't. Something is wrong," he said. If the cases are still high, he is pessimistic that tourists will come to Bali. "If this continues, no tourists will come. Yes, it's getting worse. In order to understand, the people who suffer are the Balinese. If officials don't make it safe, there will be no tourists. If you don't make your area safe, how will these tourists come?"
Context: Luhut also observed that there are still many in Bali who do not want to centrally isolate and that this is a contributing factor to the province’s cases remaining high. He also asked Balinese people to postpone or shorten the length of ceremonies to prevent new clusters. He has tasked Bali Governor Wayan Koster with reducing case numbers within the week.
"Indonesia is Past Covid Peak: Task Force" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia has been past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak since nearly three weeks ago, the National Covid-19 Task Force claimed on Thursday. The task force said the number of active cases and hospital admissions have been in a steady decline after July 24, when the country registered a record 574,135 active cases. "Indonesia has been passed the peak of Covid-19 active cases as we saw a 25.77% fall or a reduction by 60,902 active cases on August 8," Dewi Nur Aisyah, the task force’s IT and data center head, said, adding that the current statistics were “very encouraging”. “We examine the development every week in a hope that the total number of active cases will be moving downward steadily. Only in the last two weeks have we seen a consistent fall,” she said. But she was quick to add that the devastating health crisis is far from over, noting that newly Covid cases are still surging dramatically in certain provinces. Between July 4 and August 8, several provinces have registered a growth of more than 10,000 active cases each. They include North Sumatra, West Sumatra, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Riau.
"Rise in Death Toll Due to Unreported Cases: Health Ministry" from Antara: The increase recorded in the COVID-19 mortality rate in Indonesia in the last three weeks is the result of the accumulation of unreported cases, the Health Ministry has said. "Some data has been accumulated for day or weeks - even for several months. Hence, they become less appropriate to be used as an indicator for assessing current COVID-19 conditions in Indonesia," spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations at the ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said. An analysis of the ministry’s National All Record (NAR) data had found that the regional governments' report did not reflect the actual figures, expert staff at the ministry, Panji Fortuna Hadisoemarto, explained. Most of the 2,048 deaths reported on Tuesday were not recorded the same day, but the week before, and 10.7% of them were recorded as confirmed cases for more than 21 days, he said. However, the deaths have now been confirmed and included in the death toll. For instance, Bekasi City reported 397 death cases the previous day. 94% of them were not recorded the same day - 57% were reported in July this year and 37% in June. Meanwhile, the remaining 6% were recorded in the first week of August.
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Other Headlines
"‘It’s Temporary”: Govt Clarifies Decision to Omit Death Toll in Curbs Assessment" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The government has clarified its decision to exclude the daily death tally data from the group of indicators it uses to establish the level of curbs in its multi-tiered public activity restrictions (PPKM), saying that the move was only a “temporary” measure. Office of Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Ministry spokesperson Jodi Mahardi explained that the decision was taken after the government found that the COVID-19 deaths were not updated regularly. “We are not [permanently] excluding [fatality data from the curbs assessment], but we will temporarily ignore the data because we found the inputted data were an accumulation of deaths from the past few weeks, resulting in a distortion or bias in the assessment,” said Jodi, adding that the situation had made it difficult for the government to accurately assess the pandemic situation across the country. In the meantime, Jodi said the government would use other indicators, such as bed occupancy rates (BORs), confirmed cases, hospitalization rates, and testing and tracing, as well as socio-economic conditions, in assessing its COVID-19 restrictions policy.
Vaccination Update
"Over 25 Million Indonesians Fully Vaccinated" from The Jakarta Globe: Shortage in global vaccine supplies has slowed Indonesia’s attempts to ramp up vaccination against Covid-19 but somehow the country managed to administer 77.14 million doses as of Wednesday, with 25.4 million citizens already fully vaccinated. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed the number of jabs to be increased to 2 million per day, but so far health authorities only manage to deliver around half of the target due to shortage. Still, vaccine distribution is one of the country’s biggest logistical tasks in history, with a target population set at 208 million across the sprawling archipelago. The government aims to vaccinate 70% of the adult population in Bali and stricken cities across Java at least partially vaccinated by September. The cities include Bandung, Surabaya, Malang, Semarang, Solo, and Yogyakarta, Heath Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.
More...
Nation: "Over 25 Million Indonesians Fully Vaccinated" from The Jakarta Globe
Nation: "Expert: Empty Vaccine Case Related to Healthcare Workers' Work Load" from Antara
Denpasar: "Vaccination Continues to be Boosted, Health Facilities Regulate Stock to Prevent Expiry" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"LIPI Examines Presence of Sars-Cov-2 Virus in Household Wastewater" from Antara: Akbar Hanif Dawam Abdullah, Researcher at the Clean Technology Research Workshop (LPTB) at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), "Currently, we are conducting research on wastewater entering water treatment plants at city facilities, to see whether there will also be releases in the form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus." Dawam added it is not only solid waste, such as used masks, that have the potential to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also water waste. Dawam stressed there is potential for the release of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in liquid waste.
Context: The Sars-Cov-2 virus has been detected in wastewater in parts of Australia, the US, New Zealand, and other countries.
More...
Nation: "Will Support Chinese Investment in Indonesia's Health Sector: Luhut" from Antara
Province: "Cumulative Cases in Bali Exceed 91,000" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: "1000 People Died During PPKM in Bali, Koster Gives His Condolences" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Central Government Ready to Supply Oxygen and Medicines for Bali" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Bali Malls Not Selected for Trial, Mall Managers Asked to be Patient" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "30% of Positive Covid-19 Residents Don't Have a Denpasar KTP" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "No Hotels, Classrooms Become Centralized Isolation Place" from Radar Bali (Indonesian
Klungkung: "Klungkung Covid-19 Task Force Decides Crematorium Can Continue to Hold Cremations, Only 10 Can Attend" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Tourism Has Not Recovered, Tax Revenue in Bali Drops" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): Tax revenues in Bali until the end of July 2021 decreased by 20.62% amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, during the seven months of 2021, the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Taxes (Kanwil DJP) recorded revenues of Rp.4.04 trillion or 44.36% of the target of Rp.9.1 trillion. The Head of Extension, Service and Public Relations (P2Humas) of the Bali Regional Tax Office, Ida Ernawati, said that at the end of July 2020 his party had recorded revenues of Rp.4.8 trillion. Meanwhile, this year in the same period they have only recorded revenues of Rp.4.04 trillion. The decline in tax revenue is strongly influenced by the unrecovered tourism industry in Bali.
More...
Nation: "Emergency Curbs Reverse Recovery in Consumer Confidence, Retail Sales" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: "Digital Technology Boosts Indonesia's Economic Growth by 1%: CSIS" from Antara
Nation: "Number of Indonesia's Cellphone Connections Reaches 345.3 Million: Govt" from Antara
Nation: "Indonesia's Waste Management Reaches 55.96%: Minister" from Antara
Nation: "Govt Distributes Phase 2 Rice Aid to 8.8 Million Beneficiary Families" from Antara
Nation: "Will Support Chinese Investment in Indonesia's Health Sector: Luhut" from Antara
Province: "Sales of Red and White Paraphernalia Drops Drastically" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Compared to July, Passenger Traffic at Ngurah Rai Airport in the Last 11 Days Decreased by 55%" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Tiket.com Transactions Up Sevenfold as Travel Rebounds in Q2" from The Jakarta Post: Online travel agent Tiket.com saw an average sevenfold year-on-year (yoy) increase in transactions across all of its products in the second quarter of the year. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Tiket.com cofounder and chief marketing officer Mikhael Gaery Undarsa explained the sharp increase with a base effect, as sales in the second quarter of last year had been particularly low due to large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) imposed early in the pandemic. At the same time, demand in the second quarter of this year was buoyed by the Idul Fitri holiday and the government’s decision to ease public mobility restrictions (PPKM) in that period. In the second quarter, the company booked a fourfold yoy increase in flight ticket transactions and a sixfold rise in accommodation bookings. “The second quarter last year was the worst for the tourist industry. All [business] was forced to close. In early 2021 until [Idul Fitri], demand was very high,” Gaery said.
"Post-fire, Blahbatuh Market Traders Receive Stimulus" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): Market traders in Blahbatuh, Gianyar, who were hit by a fire in mid-June 2021, received stimulus assistance from the local government. The disbursement of stimulus to traders was carried out in the backyard of the Gianyar Regent's office, Thursday (12/8). The stimulus was given symbolically by Regent Mahayastra. Head of BPBD Gianyar Ida Bagus Suamba said the stimulus was given in the form of money transferred to the account of each recipient. The shops received assistance worth Rp.3 million, kiosks received Rp.2 million, and traders in the courtyard area received Rp.750,000. Blahbatuh Market has 411 traders occupying 563 places, namely 22 shops, 243 kiosks, and 298 courtyard spaces. The total funds prepared was Rp.875.5 million, which was sourced from the 2021 Gianyar Regional Budget.
"The Color of Money: Indonesia’s Green Organizations Fight Corporate ‘Greenwashing’" from The Jakarta Post: Environmental organizations arae warning people to be wary of what truly lies behind green labels, as more companies hide behind the vague promises and definitions of being sustainable for the sake of profit. This practice is known as greenwashing. Project Planet Indonesia has been raising awareness and educating people about what it means to be genuinely sustainable. The Jakarta-based nongovernmental organization is one of many independent entities to release a greenwashing awareness campaign recently. "Often, greenwashing can be done by not only false advertisements such as adding the word 'biodegradable' to a product that is not or creating a campaign, event or even product that takes the attention away from the environmentally damaging activities done by that company," Cynthia, Project Planet Indonesia’s cofounder, said.
Of Interest
"Governor Ganjar Pranowo Leads in Latest Presidential Survey" from The Jakarta Globe
"Children’s Foundation Pleads for Online Donations Amid Dwindling Support From Lack of Tourists in Bali" from Coconuts Bali
"Animator in Elementary School Goes Viral, Makes Special Work to Celebrate Indonesian Independence" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
"Saying This Mantra Believed to be Able to Avoid Lightning Strikes and Snake Bites" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Mortar Found in Penebel Tabanan Still Active" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Lepang Beach Hit by Waves, Sea Water Floods Hotel" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Tensions Grow as Nigerian Diplomat Allegedly Assaulted by Immigration Officers in Jakarta" from Coconuts Jakarta
Weekend Reads
"How Your Cup of Coffee is Clearing the Jungle" from The New York Times Magazine
"Covid: Why Indonesia is Unable to Rein in the Pandemic" from Deutsche Welle
"Grim Romance: Eka Kurniawan on Ill-fated Characters and Writing What He Knows" from The Jakarta Post
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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