August 9, 2021
Province's cases exceed 1,000 for 14 consecutive days, residents asked to be alert + Jakarta's Covid deaths more than 3 times higher for unvaccinated + Fate of PPKM announced this afternoon + 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: Yesterday marked 14 consecutive days during which Bali has recorded daily new cases over 1,000. Of yesterday’s 1,184 cases, 10 were returned overseas travelers, while 185 were returned domestic travelers. For the third day in a row, recoveries outpaced new cases. The 7-day new case average is now 1,246. Yesterday’s 25 fatalities brought this month’s total to 290.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"Daily Cases in Bali Over 1,000 for 14 Consecutive Days, Residents Asked to Be Alert" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The number of patients who have been confirmed positive for Covid-19 in Bali Province is still relatively high. The number of new confirmed positive Covid-19 patients in Bali, on Saturday 7 August 2021 still exceeded 1,000 cases. For this reason, with the high number of positive cases and deaths due to Cocid-19 in Bali, the Task Force appeals to the entire community to always be disciplined in implementing health protocols (prokes). "Once again, we urge the public to remain vigilant, and always be disciplined in implementing health protocols," said Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Handling Task Force, I Made Rentin.
"Indonesia Finds Covid Deaths More Than Three Times Higher for the Unvaccinated" from Reuters: The COVID-19 death rate for people in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta who were not vaccinated was more than three times higher than those who were, according to new health ministry data. The mortality rate of those who were not vaccinated was 15.5% compared with 4.1% for those who had received two shots of either the Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccine, according to data from state hospitals and almost 68,000 patients in Jakarta from May to July. The Southeast Asian country has been overwhelmed in recent months by a rapid spike in coronavirus cases, and on Wednesday it passed a grim milestone, recording a total of more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. Global data on vaccinated versus unvaccinated deaths is not easily available but Dr Ines Atmosukarto, a molecular biologist who works on vaccine development, said the data was further evidence of the importance of vaccination.
"PPKM Extended or Not, Government to Announce on Monday" from Okenews (Indonesian): The government will announce whether PPKM will be extended or relaxed on Monday 9 August 2021. Previously, the government extended PPKM from August 3-9. The head of the Presidential Secretariat, Heru Budi Hartono, said the announcement will be made on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Jodi Mahardi, confirmed that the announcement will be made on Monday.
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Other Headlines
"Covid Numbers in Bali Begin to Decline, Head of Health Says He Does Not Dare to Say Due to PPKM Level 4" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): Restriction of Community Activities (PPKM) in Bali is considered by some to be able to reduce the spread of Covid-19. In fact, there has been a decrease in cases on August 6 and 7. Regarding this, the Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office (Dinkes), Ketut Suarjaya, admitted that in the last two days the spread of Covid-19 on the Island of the Gods had decreased. However, with this two-day decline, Suarjaya also admitted that his party could not conclude whether the implementation of Emergency PPKM and Level 4 was effective in reducing the spread of Covid-19. "I don't dare to conclude, I'm afraid I'll be wrong. The analysis must be clear, because cases keep going up, because of family clusters, office clusters, because for two or three weeks it keeps going up, up 100 and down by 100, which is clearly still above 1,000," he added.
Context: Since the beginning of the pandemic, more cases have been reported on weekdays than on weekends in Bali, sometimes even up to 50% more, such as in January, or 40% more, such as in March. This could be because of a reduction in tracing and testing capacity on weekends. This matter is rarely mentioned in media reports.
Vaccination Update
Nation: "45 Countries Recognise Sinovac Vaccine for International Arrivals" from Indonesia Expat
Nation: "By All Means: 78-year-old Indonesian Grandma Goes on a Piggyback Ride to Get Jab" from Coconuts Jakarta
Province: "26,170 Vials of AstraZeneca Vaccine Arrive in Bali" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"What’s Wrong With Indonesia’s Contact Tracing?" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia is still struggling to improve its contact tracing capacity, even as an unprecedented wave of infections engulfs the country and claims tens of thousands of lives. Efforts to expand tracing have fallen short as health workers face mounting struggles in the field and containment and testing measures remain lax. A medical worker from a community health center (Puskesmas) in North Jakarta who asked to be identified by her initials FGA said the government had been inconsistent with its directives on contact tracing, often leaving health professionals to grapple with the problem on their own. With many health centers overwhelmed by influxes of patients and shortages of staff, FGA said there were few options but to rely on contact tracing assistants hired on short-term contracts.
More...
Nation: "Masks Must Never Be Removed in Public Places: Spokesperson" from Antara
Province: "Dozens of Fatalities Reported in Bali, Majority Had No Comorbidities" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: "Over Two Days, Bali Police Controls Distribution of 32 Tons of Oxygen to Hospitals" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Kodim Conducts Random Swab Test, Targets Hangout Places" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "TNI Dormitory in Buleleng Becomes Central Isolation Location for Covid Patients" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Recoveries Increase to 450, Deaths Dominated by People Who Have Not Been Vaccinated" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Sanglah Hospital Has Treated 225 Pregnant Women Exposed to Covid-19" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Denpasar City Government Intensifies Tracing and Testing" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Gianyar: "BOR for Isolation of Covid Patients in Gianyar Almost Full, Patient Handling Still Controlled" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "Some Self-isolating Jembrana Residents Leave Their Homes" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "Funeral Team for Covid Patients Coordinator Clarifies Members’ Honorarium" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
NTB: "Cases Soar, NTB Hospitals Experience Oxygen Scarcity" from Republika (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"BI: Work From Bali Program Contributes to Economic Growth" from Republika (Indonesian): Head of the Bali Province Bank Indonesia Representative Office, Trisno Nugroho, said the "Work from Bali" program (WFB) in May-June 2021 had a positive impact on local economic growth in the second quarter. "BPS noted that the Bali economy experienced positive growth of 2.83% (yoy), an increase from minus 9.81% (yoy) in the previous quarter." According to him, the WFB program in May-June 2021 and the easing of the PPKM policy during the second quarter of 2021 provided space for the tourism sector and related sectors to encourage economic improvement.
More...
Nation: "Uno Sees Tourism Boom Post Community Restrictions" from Antara
Nation: "Bukalapak, First Unicorn to List on IDV, Gains 25% on Day One" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: "Government Extends VAT Incentives" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Nation: "Lipi Researcher Turns Mask Waste into Economically Valuable Product" from Antara
Province: "Bali Medical Tourism Association Collaborates with 14 Hospitals for Medical Tourism" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Badung: "Kerobokan Prison Over Capacity, 83.74% Narcotics Prisoners" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Gobleg-Bali Youth Holds Technology-based Agricultural Training" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Used Mask Waste Piles Up in TPA" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Gianyar: "Kerta Village to be Transformed into Vegetable Village" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Gianyar: "Because of Covid, Ketut Wiarsana's Kele-Kele Honey Cultivation Has Skyrocketed" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "Hundreds of Houses in Karangasem in Landslide Prone Locations" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Exposed to Covid, 3 Health Workers in Badung Fall While On Duty" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Throughout the pandemic, a total of three health workers (nakes) in Badung Regency, Bali Province have died while carrying out their duties. The health workers who died consisted of a nurse, a midwife, and an epidemiologist. The Head of the Badung District Health Office, Dr. Nyoman Gunarta said, “They died in October 2020, February 2021 and June 14, 2021 respectively. Hopefully, our health workers will not experience the same thing again and we hope that the community will continue to comply with the government's advice to maintain health protocols."
"Food and Beverage Highest Contributor to Industry Growth" from Antara: Food and beverage industry has recorded 38.42% contribution to Indonesia's non-oil and gas manufacturing industry growth, the largest contributor in the second quarter of 2021, with its positive growth of 2.95%. The industry has made a 6.66% contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), acting Director General of Agro-industry at the Industry Ministry Putu Juli Ardika said. "Food and beverage industry has brought a wide positive impact to the national economy, such as increasing added value through industry downstreaming, revenue from investment and export, and high absorption of workforces," Ardika said. Exports in food and beverage sector have recorded a 42.59% increase to US$19.58 billion in the second quarter of the year, compared to US$13.73 billion of exports during the same period of 2020. Ardika said the industry's performance should be maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering its significant role to supply food to the public.
"Ngurah Rai Airport Bali Implements Energy Management System" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) President Director Faik Fahmi said Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport has implemented the ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System. "Angkasa Pura I is committed to being able to contribute positively to the environment, which is also one of the company's missions. Energy conservation through the implementation of an energy management system and the use of renewable energy at the airport is a manifestation of the implementation of the company's mission. Faik conveyed that Ngurah Rai Airport was chosen to be the first Angkasa Pura I airport to implement the ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System because this airport is one of the airports with the busiest activities. Increased airport operations have an impact on increasing energy consumption, both the use of electrical energy and fuel oil (BBM) energy.
"Indonesian in Australia Relies on E-commerce to Help Family Back Home" from The Jakarta Globe: Being thousands of miles apart from her homeland, Yunie Rahmat—an Indonesian living in Australia—can only rely on online marketplaces to buy oxygen tanks for her family back home, as Indonesia's fierce fight against the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Indonesia's Covid-19 tally has worried the Indonesians living abroad, and Belmore resident Yunie is no exception. Yunie is currently living in the epicenter of Australia's Covid-19 crisis that is now a " national emergency". Since June 26, a strict lockdown has forced Sydney residents to stay at home. And from within her four walls, Yunie orders medical supplies online for her family in Bandung, West Java. "I send medical supplies to my family in Indonesia from online shopping, like medicines, oxygen, masks, thermometers," Yunie said. Infections soar, and so does the demand for oxygen. News of Indonesians queuing to refill their oxygen cylinders have painted a grim picture of the pandemic situation in the country. Given the scarcity, Yunie is lucky to have sourced oxygen from online marketplaces such as Shopee and Bukalapak, unlike many of her friends back home.
Of Interest
"KemenPPPA: Importance of Prioritizing Prevention of Cases of Violence Against Women" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
"Indonesian Warship Conducts Security Operation in Eastern Indonesia" From Antara
"Ari Dwipayana: Hindus Need to Re-formulate National Dharma Strategy" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Observer Calls for Separate Presidential, Regional Elections" from Antara
"To Awaken Spirit of Bali Tourism Actors, Pigeon Hobbyist Community Will Release 700 Pigeons" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Fire at Komodo Island Savannah Extinguished" from Antara
"Indonesian Olympic Weightlifter Nurul Akmal Body-shamed During Homecoming Ceremony" from Coconuts Jakarta
"Two Tourists Dragged by Currents at Klingking Beach" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Pacific Ocean Island Dubbed ‘New Bali’ for Australians" from Coconuts Bali
"American Tourist in Bali Suffers Brain Injury in Horror Scooter Accident as Family Pleads for Help to Bring Her Home" from The U.S. Sun
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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