December 3, 2021
Bali’s plastic waste dominated by water bottles says report + Details on 10-day quarantine released + Airport traffic up 20% to over 500,000 passengers + Weekend reads + more
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Plastic Waste in Bali Is Dominated by 300 and 600 Ml Mineral Water Bottles” from Suara Bali (Indonesian): Sungai Watch has released a report entitled “River Plastic Report 001”. This report contains the results of an examination of 5.2 million tons of plastic waste collected between August and September 2020 through clean-up actions at eight locations in Bali. The report notes there are six products that often pollute the environment, especially rivers, in Bali. The most dominant are plastic bottles. The report states that there are 400 plastic brands, affiliated with 100 companies, whose products pollute rivers in Bali. The report also contains detailed data on brands of bottled beverage bottles. "We truly believe in the power of data to start a conversation with corporations (about their continued obligations as producers), distributors, governments and consumers," said the founder of Sungai Watch, Gary Bencheghib.
Context: The full report can be downloaded from the Sungai Watch website here. You can learn more about the organisation and the work they do here. In related news, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said that Bali is a pilot project for packaging waste recycling (Indonesian).
“Covid-19 Task Force Releases Details on 10-day Quarantine” from Bali Post (Indonesian): The COVID-19 Task Force issued Addendum SE Number 23 of 2021 concerning International Travel Health Protocols During the Corona Virus Disease 2019 Pandemic, on Thursday. In the addendum it stated that quarantine was changed from seven days to ten days for international travelers. It is stated that all international travelers, both Indonesian and foreigners must follow specified requirements. That is, upon arrival, RT-PCR retests are carried out for international travelers and are required to undergo quarantine for 10 x 24 hours. Meanwhile, for Indonesian citizens and foreigners, a second RT-PCR test is carried out on the ninth day of quarantine. This quarantine extension will take effect from December 3. "Obviously, the policy taken will continue to be evaluated periodically while we continue to understand and explore information about this new variant," said Coordinating Minister Luhut.
Context: This new rule (which was first reported yesterday) is a separate regulation to the increased PPKM level over the holiday period, and as such, is open-ended.
“Ngurah Rai Airport Passengers Grew 20% to Over 500,000 in November” from Antara Bali (Indonesian): Passengers at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport during November 2021 recorded 20% growth compared to October 2021. Based on air traffic data for domestic flights in November, Ngurah Rai Airport served 276,468 departures and 279,160 arrivals. "Towards the end of 2021, the trend is that the increase in passengers since the last three months has gradually increased, thus placing November as the highest peak during 2021, namely 555,628 passengers served," said General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali Herry AY Sikado on Thursday.
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Other Headlines
“Govt Ramps Up Covid-19 Surveillance as Omicron Threat Looms” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The Health Ministry is working on enhancing its COVID-19 surveillance to effectively detect and contain the spread of Omicron at an early stage as more countries across the globe detect the new virus variant. Health authorities are aiming to improve its relatively poor contact tracing by working together with village supervisory non-commissioned officers and public order officers, according to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin. "We need to strengthen our contact tracing and increase the number of patients' close contacts who were tested for COVID-19 so that we can find new cases as soon as possible," Budi said on Monday.
Vaccination Update
“Indonesia Vaccinations Below Target; Govt Expands to Rural Areas” from Tempo: Indonesia's Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmidzi on Thursday said the national vaccination rate is still far from the set target by the end of this year. She said vaccine disbursement is hampered by challenging conditions in the field. “As of now, dose one vaccines have started to enter challenging areas as 33% of those unvaccinated are rural areas and islands. It is indeed a major challenge to cover the remaining target,” said Tarmidzi on Thursday.
Context: Don’t forget you can follow Bali’s vaccine progress on the Sunday evening Bali Beat edition.
More...
Nation: “Covid-19 Task Force Urges People to Get Vaccinated” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“29,208 Rural Covid Posts Set Up to Prevent Third Wave” from Antara: A total of 29,208 village-level posts have been established to strengthen coronavirus prevention and handling and guide the community to prevent a third wave of infections, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force has said. The number of posts has reached 36.30% of the nationwide target of 80,469 posts, head of the behavioral change division of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Harris Iskandar, said on Thursday. “It is hoped that with the tightening (of restrictions) ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the activities of those posts can be improved along with the cooperation with the task force, Home Affairs Ministry, and regional governments,” Iskandar said.
More...
Nation: “Omicron Nears Indonesia With Two Cases in Singapore” from CNBC Indonesia (Indonesian)
Nation: “Places of Worship Must Set Example on Covid Handling” from Antara
Nation: “State Officials Barred From Overseas Trips Due to Omicron” from Antara
Economy & Infrastructure
“Bappenas to Launch Bali Economic Roadmap and Ulapan Master Plan” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas together with the Bali Provincial Government will launch the Kerthi Bali Economic Roadmap Towards a New Era of Bali: Green, Resilient and Prosperous as well as the Ulapan Tourism Area Development Master Plan on Friday. The Roadmap was prepared based on the Indonesia Vision 2045 and the Balinese local wisdom "Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali" which is sourced from the local philosophical values of Sad Kerthi and the spirit of Hindu teachings, Tri Hita Karana. Apart from outlining the short-term economic recovery strategy and action plan and the Bali Economic Transformation strategy in the medium-long term, it also accommodates the post-Covid-19 life changes to reorganize the Balinese economy with the principle of utilizing Bali's local resources, both natural and human, as well as its culture, in a sustainable manner.
More...
Nation: “Migrant Workers, People With Disabilities Remain Marginalized” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “Citilink Wins Award for Supervision, Airworthiness” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Unleashes Wave of Decarbonization Plans” from Nikkei Asia
Nation: “Omicron Variant Casts Shadow Over Economic Recovery” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “Mataram Receives IDR 15 Billion for Roads” from Republika (Indonesian)
Education
“Schools Must Include Disabled Students in Learning Activities” from Antara: General schools should include students with disabilities in learning activities so that they have other options beyond going to special needs schools, Secretary General of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Harry Hikmat, said. "Inclusivity should be understood as the existence of equality, or equality in opportunity," he said. "People with disabilities should be able to go to general schools, not be marginalized and have to go to special schools," he added. General schools should prepare teachers who understand the needs of students with disabilities as well as education support facilities for such students, he said.
Context: Meanwhile Social Affairs Minister Risma is attracting news coverage for forcing a deaf and mute boy to speak.
More ...
Nation: “Nadiem Reaffirms Commitment to Bridge Accessibility Gap in Online Learning” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Bali Reopening
“10-Day Quarantine Doesn't Make Any sense for Business Says Hotel Association” from Bali Express (Indonesian): Responding to the announcement of a 10-day quarantine for foreign travellers, the Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association Badung I Gusti Agung Rai Suryawijaya said that its implementation was not very beneficial for tourism. The reason is the addition of this quarantine period will reduce the intention of tourists to visit. “The 10-day quarantine period, from a business perspective, is quite unreasonable. From a business point of view it's not worth it," said Agung Ray on Thursday. According to him, the PPKM Level 3 policy and the 10-day quarantine period are a new trial for tourism actors.
Context: In related news, the Buleleng chapter of the PHRI asked for the PPKM Level 3 rules to be revoked to assist the tourism industry over the holiday period (Indonesian).
More...
“Bali Potentially Becomes Heaven for World Start-Up Actors” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
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Weekend Reads
“With Loss of Forests, Bali Villages Find Themselves Vulnerable to Disaster” from Mongabay
“The Difficulties of Being a Human Trafficking Survivor in Indonesia” from Tirto (Indonesian)
“30 Years After the Santa Cruz Massacre: What Legacy Is Left Behind?” from New Mandala
“Grab and Goto IPOs Have One Little Problem: Angry Gig Workers” from Rest of World
“With Just 75 Cents and a Smartphone, You Can Now Trade Crypto in Indonesia” from Rest of World
“Bali Was Slammed With Tourists Before Covid. Now It’s Slammed Without.” from The Wall Street Journal (Paywall)
Of Interest
“President to Observe G20 Facilities in Bali” from Antara
“International Passengers Can Bring 2.25l Duty-free Alcohol Starting 2022” from Indonesia Expat
“Jerinx Detained in Jakarta, Faces Six Years in Prison Over Threat” from Coconuts Bali
“Ukranian ATM Skimmer Arrested in Uluwatu” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“The Reason the Bintang T-shirt Is Iconic” from CNN Indonesia (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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