December 22, 2021
Contract tracing of Jakarta Omicron cases yields 10-60 possible cases + Bali prepares 700 extra hospital beds in case of a spike in cases + Travelers to Nusa Penida must be fully vaccinated + 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.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Three Omicron Cases in Indonesia, Traces to 250 Contacts Yields Ten Infections” from Tempo: The Indonesian Health Ministry traced the contacts of three Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant. The ministry's direct infectious disease prevention and control director, Siti Nadia Tarmizi said, said they had tracked down 250 close contacts. "From that, we found 10 people who tested positive for Covid-19," she said on Tuesday. The ministry is now conducting whole genome sequencing to find out whether those cases are of the variant. Nadia had said that the tracing by done by taking samples from a number of passengers on the plane, as the three Omicron cases were imported ones. The first case of the Omicron variant is a janitor at Wisma Atlet Kemayoran. The Health Ministry has confirmed that the janitor contracted it from an Indonesian who returned from Nigeria on 27 November and was quarantined at Wisma Atlet.
Context: Another report put the positive cases detected from the pool of 250 people at 60 — six times the figure quoted above. Contact tracing on the janitor was not reported on.
“Bali Prepares 700 Extra Beds for the End of the Year” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): Bali has prepared 700 additional beds to anticipate the surge in Covid-19 cases at the end of the year. The Head of the Bali Provincial Disaster Management Agency, I Made Rentin, said that additional beds were prepared after reflecting on the experience at the end of the year in 2020 and 2021. This is because every long holiday there is a spike in cases of the Covid-19 pandemic. "Therefore, we have prepared 700 additional beds in case of a spike in cases, prepared to spread over four areas," he said, on Tuesday.
“Travelers to Nusa Penida Must Show Proof of Second Dose of Vaccination” from Bali Express (Indonesian): The government of Nusa Penida sub-district has tightened surveillance at the entrance and exit of the Nusa Penida islands. Residents who want to cross from and to Nusa Penida are required to show proof of the second dose of Covid-19 vaccination to the guard. Based on the letter regarding vaccination and the application of proof of the second dose of vaccine, the regulation will take effect from Friday. The letter was signed by the Head of Nusa Penida I Komang Widyasa Putra. “It is mandatory to be able to show evidence that dose II has been vaccinated," said Widyasa Putra on Tuesday. When there are enforcement activities, the crossing guard has involved the Sub-District Task Force and its vaccinator team. If there is no evidence of a second dose of vaccine, or even no vaccine has been injected at all, they will be directed to vaccinate immediately.
Context: Passenger traffic from Sanur to Nusa Penida is up sharply (Indonesian).
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Other Headlines
“Garuda to Maintain Only Five International Routes” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): Garuda Indonesia will maintain five international routes by 2022. These routes are Hong Kong, Sydney, Narita, Seoul and China. President Director of Garuda Indonesia Irfan Setiaputra said the five routes were maintained because they still provide benefits. Meanwhile, other international routes must be closed for the sake of company efficiency. "While we have closed a lot of international (routes) we have closed, while the ones we are still operating or flying are Hong Kong, Sydney, Narita, Seoul, China," said Irfan on Monday. The airline also maintains the Jeddah route, however, Jeddah did not enter the international route because it was only devoted to Umrah.
Context: In related news, the Indonesia stock exchange has warned it may delist Garuda.
Vaccination Update
“Government Prepares Groundwork for Booster Shot Rollout” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The government is laying the groundwork to expand the rollout of booster shots in response to the contagious Omicron variant, but experts have said the government should prioritize expanding the two-dose regimen to partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people. The government’s vaccination strategy, including its booster expansion plan, is considered among the key pillars to mitigate the threat of the Omicron variant, as it plans to keep the current curbs unchanged unless certain thresholds are passed. Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government would soon amend some of its regulations to allow booster shots be given to the public.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Receives Two Million Sinovac Vaccines From China” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesian Man Claims to Have Been Hired to Receive 14 Covid-19 Shots” from Coconuts Jakarta
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Free Quarantine Only for Indonesian Migrants, Students” from Antara: The government will only foot the quarantine bill for Indonesian migrant workers, Indonesian students studying abroad, and state civil apparatus or government employees returning from official travel, the COVID-19 task force has said. "Indonesian citizens who do not fall under (those three categories) are welcome to undergo quarantine in recommended hotels," chairman of public communication for the task force, Hery Trianto, said on Tuesday. He issued the clarification after a recent build-up of travelers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Responding to the build-up, the task force said it improved the registration procedure, added personnel and quarantine rooms to reduce queues.
Context: This story follows on from news yesterday regarding long delays at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and reports on Minister Luhut saying wealthy Indonesians should not expect free quarantine (Indonesian). In related news, quarantine hotel rates in Jakarta have been capped.
More...
Nation: “Omicron Wandering Around Amid Policy Flip-flop” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “IPB Researchers Develop ELISA-based Covid Test Kit” from Antara
Province: “Tracing and Testing of Covid-19 Cases in Bali is Below Standard” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Dozens of Denpasar Residents Netted for Violating Prokes” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Indonesia Breaks Ground on Industrial Park Set to be World's Largest” from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia has kicked off the construction of what will be the world’s largest industrial park in Bulungan, North Kalimantan. “We hope that this will become the largest green industrial park in the world. Not North Kalimantan, not Indonesia, but the world,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Tuesday. The industrial park currently spans 16,400 hectares and is targeted to expand to 30,000 hectares. Products coming from this industrial estate include solar panels, semiconductors, green aluminum, petrochemicals for textiles, among others. In his remarks, the president urged that any permit must be ready in a matter of hours, “to show that we are serious about developing this area. I don’t want to hear any more of the permit being [issued] late or incomplete.”
More...
Nation: “Mandalika MotoGP: Cruise Ship to Be Readied to Lodge Tourists” from Antara
Nation: “Govt Sees GDP Growth Above 5% in Q4” from Antara
Nation: “Tiket.com Said 2021 Business Grew 40%” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Bali Forum Rises Propose Turn on VOA and Free Visa” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Bali Rise Forum held a meeting with the government, PHRI, GIPI, Kadin, and other related parties. There were a number of points agreed in the meeting. Among them are recommending separate handling of Covid-19 between Bali and Java, so that Bali can be enforced with special policies. The next point applies the flexibility of Bali's open border policy. Namely asking the central government to open the convenience of paid e-Visa applications specifically for tourist destinations individually, without having to go through a corporate guarantor. "Or reopen VOA applications and free visas, especially for countries with a low risk of Covid-19," said Puspa Negara, an FBB member after the meeting on Tuesday.
More...
“End of Year, Predicted Hotel Occupancy Rate in Bali 70%” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“International Arrivals Up in Last Two Months” from Antara: The number of international arrivals in Indonesia has increased in the last two months, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Wiku Adisasmito, said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, in the midst of the Omicron threat and efforts to maintain the number of cases to stay controlled, in the last two months, the trend of arrivals of passengers from abroad has actually increased at the airport," he said. As of October 2021, the number of international arrivals was still in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 arrivals per day, he said, however in December 2021, the number reached around 4,000 arrivals.
Of Interest
“Car Runs Over Three Men Sitting on Sidewalk, One Killed” from Coconuts Bali
“Deceived by Developers, Here Are 6 Portraits of a Momo Geisha Villa in Bali Full of Bushes” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
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