December 24, 2021
Positivity rate up to 10x higher for travellers by sea & land than air + Random checks on mobility & protocols to take place over holidays + Soekarno-Hatta expects peak passenger loads today + more
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The Bali Beat will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year’s period, the last edition of 2021 will be on Friday, December 24 and we’ll be back in your inbox on Monday, January 3, 2022.
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
“Positivity Rate Among Sea, Land Travelers up to Ten Times Higher Than for Air Travelers” from Antara: The COVID-19 positivity rate recorded at sea and land travel entry points is currently higher than at air travel entry points, government spokesperson for COVID-19 Handling, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said on Thursday. "The government will continue to tighten testing and tracing efforts at all entry points since the (COVID-19) positivity rate at sea and land travel entry points is tenfold higher than at air travel entry points," he said on Thursday. During the period from December 12 to 18, the positivity rate at air entry points was 0.48%, sea entry points 5.401%, and land entry points 1.3%, he said. The tightening of supervision at all entry points is a follow-up to the detection of Omicron cases in the country, he said.
Context: These percentages are for international arrivals into Indonesia — not domestic travel. The story gave no suggested explanation for the difference in rates. The monthly total arrivals by air, sea and land can be seen here (Indonesian).
“Random Checks on Mobility, Protocols During Holidays” from Antara: Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has announced that there will be random checks on mobility and health protocols at tourist sites, shopping centers, and malls. He urged people to remain alert during the mobility surge around Christmas and New Year holidays. Around 11 million people are expected to travel during the holidays despite the emergence of the Omicron variant in Indonesia, the minister said. He said random checks will be carried out to review security and service post facilities, which have been asked to anticipate a surge in mobility during the holiday period, especially at tourist attractions.
“Soekarno-Hatta Christmas Traffic to Peak on Friday” from Tempo: State airport operator Angkasa Pura II predicts a surge in passengers' traffic by 20 to 25% at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Christmas Eve. December 24 is expected to see the peak of Christmas holiday traffic at the airport. Right now, Soekarno-Hatta's daily passenger traffic is between 80,000 and 85,000. Angkasa Pura II has prepared a number of strategies to anticipate surges during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The operator has reactivated Terminal 1A for domestic flights. For international flights, Soekarno-Hatta Airport reactivated terminal 2F. The airport has also set up three holding bays at international arrival terminals, where passengers would undergo health checks, check documents, and take PCR tests.
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Other Headlines
“Hotels for Quarantine and Holidaying Should Be Separate” from Antara: Head of the Health Handling Division of the COVID-19 Task Force Alexander K. Ginting said that hotels used for COVID-19 quarantine and those used by the public to stay during holidays should be separate. "Those who are quarantined cannot stay at the same location as those who are not undergoing quarantine," Ginting said on Thursday. The task force head emphasized that the separation was crucial to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to healthy people, especially since the new variant called Omicron had surfaced. Ginting explained that if the hotel only had one main building and one door for the entrance, then it is suggested to be assigned as a quarantine hotel.
Context: The issue of quarantine hotels not being able to accept non-quarantine guests has been a controversial one in Bali and a significant point of disagreement between hotels in Bali and the government. The Provincial Government allowed hotels to accept both in mid-October (Indonesian).
Vaccination Update
“Distribution Permit Issue Puts Molnupiravir Shipment on Hold” from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia will not receive antiviral drug Molnupiravir until January at the soonest due to a lack of distribution permit from the Drug and Food Supervisory Agency or BPOM, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. Indonesia has placed orders for up to a million doses of the oral drug against Covid-19 and expected delivery before the end of the year. “The producer cannot confirm when they will be able to deliver the drug pending distribution permit from the BPOM,” Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said. Molnupiravir is intended for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 to reduce risks of hospitalization or death, but the latest clinical trial data suggested that the pill was less effective than previously believed.
More...
Nation: “Minister Optimistic of Reaching 70% Vaccination Target by Year-end” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Receives 1.5 Million Moderna Vaccine Doses From Dutch Gov't” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccine Donations From France & Germany Arrive” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccine Booster Not Urgent in Indonesia, Says Epidemiologist” from Tempo
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Health Ministry Confirms Three More Cases of Omicron” from Antara: The Health Ministry confirmed more cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus in Indonesia involving three travelers from abroad, detected through Whole Genome Sequencing examination reported on Wednesday night. "With the addition of these cases, the case count for Omicron in Indonesia has increased to eight," spokesperson for Vaccination at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said on Thursday. All three are Indonesian migrant workers, who have been quarantined at the Kemayoran Athlete's Village COVID-19 Emergency Hospital. "All Omicron cases in Indonesia are from (people who went) overseas (imported cases). This finding shows that all cases occur in quarantine, so we can contain them in quarantine and so far, none had spread out," she said.
Context: We’ve seen no further coverage of the reported 60 positive cases which were found after contact tracing on the first Omicron cases found in Jakarta.
More...
Nation: “Tangerang Police Arrest Two Men for Quarantine Fraud” from Antara
Nation: “Flight Arrival Times Causes Spiraling Traveler Queues” from Antara
Nation: “Venues Without Pedulilindungi Risky Says Jakarta Governor” from Antara
Nation: “PCR Tests Available at Train Stations” from Indonesia Expat
Province: “Bali Police Deploy 1,497 Personnel to Safeguard Holiday Period” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: “Seven Bitten by Dog Suspected of Rabies” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Indonesia to Consider Subsidising Cooking Oil to Curb Inflation” from Reuters: Indonesia is considering subsidising cooking oil for its domestic market using revenue from a palm oil export levy, as authorities seek to keep inflation in check amid a rise in commodity prices, its trade minister said on Thursday. November's inflation rate was 1.75%, the highest in 17 months but remains below the central bank's comfort range of 2% to 4%. However, Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi noted that cooking oil prices have jumped significantly, which could affect people's purchasing power. Although no decision has been made, Lutfi said subsidies were likely only to apply to cooking oil sold in bulk, of which Indonesians typically consume around 2 million tonnes a year. Indonesia's overall consumption is around 8 million tonnes of cooking oil annually.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Projected to Record US$37 Billion Trade Surplus in 2021” from Antara
Nation: “Ministry Backs Sustainable Seafood Campaign” from Antara
Province: “Koster to Close Disposable Plastic Distributor in Bali” from Detik (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Two Years After the Pandemic, There Is a Lot of Damage in Bali” from Detik (Indonesian): The Deputy Governor of Bali, Cok Ace said that during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been a lot of damage in Bali and he was worried that the damage would be permanent if not repaired. According to Cok Ace, there were two damages, namely physical damage to tourist buildings, including hotels to swimming pools and also damage in terms of human resources. "After two years of tourism in Bali slumped, now there are damages. Not only damage to facilities, hotel swimming pools and so on, also damage to human resources," said Cok Ace on Wednesday. "I'm afraid that if we don't make breakthroughs soon, these damages will be permanent," said Cok Ace.
More...
“Domestic Tourists Key to the Rise of the Tourism Sector” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Weekend Reads
“Influencers Have a New Racket in Indonesia: Investment Advice” from Rest of World
“Cruelty Debate Over Zoo Exhibition Highlights Complexities of Elephant Tourism in Thailand” from CNN
“Inside the Campaign to Save an Imperiled Cambodian Rainforest” from The New York Times (Metered Paywall)
Of Interest
“Bali Man Facing 5 Years for Not Returning Lost Phone” from Coconuts Bali
“Klungkung Police Destroyed Dozens of Alcohol Bottles” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“Body Found on Nyang Nyang Cliffs” from Bali Express (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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