December 10, 2021
Full vaccination needed for Christmas & New Year’s travel + 40 int. passengers test +ve at Soekarno-Hatta in Nov. + More ATM skimming arrests, billions stolen + Weekend reads + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Gov't Makes Full Vaccination a Year-end Travel Requirement” from Antara: Complete vaccination will be made a pre-condition for undertaking travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays as part of efforts to reduce virus transmission, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force has said. "In the near future, the government will enforce a mandatory policy of full-dose vaccination for inter-district or inter-city travelers in the agglomeration area (and outside) during the Christmas and New Year period," the task force's spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, said on Thursday. The central government has given local governments the discretion to adjust the rules based on their situation, especially regions outside Java-Bali where the vaccination rate is still below the national average, he said.
Context: A commencement date for this new regulation is yet to be announced.
“40 International Passengers Tested Positive for Covid-19 in November at Soekarno-Hatta” from Tempo: The Soekarno-Hatta Port Health Office found that 40 passengers of international flights tested positive for Covid-19 in November. Authorities said the passengers are Indonesians and foreign nationals. The 40 people who tested positive are currently in isolation and or in treatment at the Wisma Atlet Pademangan. "The 40 positive samples were found since we implemented prevention of the entry of variant B.1.1.529 of Covid-19, or the Omicron, into Indonesian territory at the end of November," Soekarno Hatta Airport's Port Health Office Dr. Darmawali Handoko said on Thursday. So far, the Soekarno-Hatta KKP has not received any information about the discovery of the Omicron variant from the positive sample sent to the Health R&D Agency.
Context: While the 40 positive cases have been dated to November, the authorities stated these cases were found after implementing Omicron testing at the end of November. It isn’t clear from this story if samples taken throughout November are being re-screened for the new variant or if this is an inaccurate quotation.
“Ukrainian Woman Arrested for ATM Skimming” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Resmob Team of the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation of the Bali Police is still hunting for the main perpetrator of the Skimming Mister MX case with a suspect who has been arrested, a woman with the initials BK from Ukraine. The police indicated that there was more than one perpetrator, a network or an organized group of women. BK was caught doing the action at an ATM at an Indomaret gas station on Jalan Raya Uluwatu, Ungasan, on November 30. The perpetrator's actions were suspected from a CCTV, she always changed helmets and clothes or raincoats to use a wig when carrying out the crimes. As a result of the suspect's actions, the victim who reported suffered a loss of up to IDR 325.6 million.
Context: Other reports put the total amount stolen at around IDR 7 billion (Indonesian). Two Turkish ATM skimmers were arrested yesterday (Indonesian) and two others were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison (Indonesian). An explainer of ATM skimming, how it works and how to better protect yourself can be found here.
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Other Headlines
“Indonesia Drafting Regulation on Utilization of Sunken Ships” from Antara: The Indonesian government is drafting a regulation on the retrieval of valuable objects from sunken ships (BMKT) and their utilization, which the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry expects will contribute to sustainable marine development. "It will regulate the mechanism for retrieval, on-site and off-site utilization, and utilization status finalization of BMKT," acting Director General of Marine Spatial Management at the ministry Pamuji Lestari said on Thursday. The sunken ships can be developed into local community business since BMKT investment has been regulated by Government Regulations Number 5/2021 concerning Risk-Based Business Licensing, she added.
Context: The plunder of wrecks from World War II has long been a source of controversy, with wrecks across Southeast Asia being looted for scrap metal and other valuables. While the problem exists across the region, Indonesian and Malaysian waters have been particularly fertile grounds for plunder. One Chinese company has claimed to have “salvaged” over 1,000 wrecks in the South China Sea. In some cases, entire wrecks have vanished.
Vaccination Update
“Indonesians Must Receive Complete Vaccination Without Further Ado” from Antara: Minister of Communications and Informatics Johnny G. Plate urged the people at large in Indonesia to immediately receive vaccination against COVID-19 and complete taking the entire dosage to protect themselves and those around them. "People cannot choose the brand of the vaccine that they want. Please get vaccinated immediately to protect themselves, their families, and the people around them," Plate said on Thursday. The minister later highlighted people delaying vaccination for a certain vaccine brand of their choice. This behavior could hinder the efforts to accelerate vaccination being pursued by the government.
Context: This urging to get vaccinated ties in with the new requirement to be fully vaccinated to travel (see Big News above).
More...
Nation: “101 Million Indonesians Are Fully Vaccinated against Covid-19” from The Jakarta Globe
Nation: “Covid-19 Pandemic Causal to Nations Competing for Vaccines” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
More...
Nation: “Stop the New Variant From Developing With Prokes, Vaccination and Early Detection” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Province: “Volunteers Give Assistance to Residents Affected by the Pandemic in Bali” from Republika (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Hotel Occupancy in Bali Q3 2021 Only 9%” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): Research from Bank Mandiri shows that the hotel sector, especially in the Bali area, is still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Until the third quarter of 2021, the average Bali hotel occupancy rate is only 9.7%. Bank Mandiri's Department Head of Industry and Regional Research Dendi Ramdani said Bali's occupancy rate was still far from the national occupancy rate for the same period of 32%. In comparison, before the pandemic, Bali's occupancy rate was almost 60%, higher than the national level of 53.8%. Even so, he explained that not all sectors were still gasping for air, there were types of businesses that were actually growing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Take the mining sector, for example, from coal, oil and gas, palm oil, rubber, nickel, to cement, which have shown positive growth.
More...
Province: “Governor of Bali: Hotel and Restaurant Tax Receipts Via Digital Are Not Satisfactory” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Education
“Ministry Encouraging Complete Switch to Face-to-face Learning” from Antara: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has encouraged all parties to accelerate the implementation of 100 percent face-to-face learning, an official from the ministry has said. "We encourage various parties to accelerate the implementation of face-to-face learning, not limited but fully," the ministry's Director General of Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary Education, Jumeri, said on Thursday. According to him, the implementation of full face-to-face learning is necessary to prevent a decline in children's learning outcomes, which the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic could cause.
Bali Reopening
“Staycation Trend Indicates Tourism Revival Amid Pandemic” from Antara: The staycation trend has shown that the tourism sector, particularly the hospitality industry, has revived, according to an official from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry. "This (evidence) reflects that the tourism industry has revived amid the pandemic and the trend can also help boost the economy and the public can judge it. Let us travel again to the nearest spot,” the ministry’s Marketing Deputy, Nia Niscaya, said on Thursday. Currently, the vacation trend has changed, with people preferring a comfortable vacation spot that implements the health protocols strictly, and staycation is considered to meet this requirement, she noted.
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Weekend Reads
“Bali Man's Rice for Plastic Initiative Tackles Pollution While Supporting Covid-hit Villagers” from CNA
“Coronavirus Turns Gili Trawangan Into Desert of Abandoned Resorts” from Agence France-Presse
“Addressing Food Security in Indonesia” from New Mandala
“Dreaming of Dragons? Here’s Where They Really Live” from National Geographic
Of Interest
“Canggu Marijuana Garden Dismantled, Spanish Resident Arrested” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“If Land Not Paid for, Amaq Bengkok Will Remain at Mandalika Circuit” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
“Mysterious Shipwreck Moved to Coast of Gili Selang” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
“Yustisi Team to Remove Advertisements on Canggu Shortcut” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
“Arguing Marijuana Therapy for Medicine, Americans Sentenced Lightly” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
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How You Can Help Bali
Due to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. If you’d like to support organizations working to help those in need, you can see a list of some here.
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