December 6, 2021
Free & paid booster shots begin Jan. 2022 + Kuta Beach in tatters, 30 tons of trash removed + 13 dead as Semeru erupts, Bali–Java flights uninterrupted + more
Good morning!
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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
Note: Yesterday was the first drop in cases in treatment since early November. After a two week stretch of no recoveries in late November, some recoveries have begun to appear. There were five fatalities over the last seven days.
The Big News
“Third Booster Vaccine Starting 2022, With Paid and Free Options” from Detik (Indonesian): Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the third dose of COVID-19 vaccination or booster will run in parallel in all provinces in the country starting January 2022. The third dose of vaccination will be partially paid and some will be paid for which is free. "There is no province (priority), everything is directly parallel," Luhut said on Saturday. Luhut said the COVID-19 booster vaccination will be obtained by some Indonesians for free and some for a fee. "Some are paid. Our lower class people don't pay or it's free, it's about 100 million people, others pay. I'll definitely pay for it," said Luhut. However, the price of the vaccine has not yet been determined, currently it is still being calculated by the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the price range for the COVID-19 booster vaccine is below IDR 300,000.
Context: Reports of last week suggested the commencement of the booster program may be brought forward due to concerns around Omicron.
“Kuta Beach in Tatters” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The high tides that have occurred in the southern waters of Bali in the last few days have made Kuta Beach increasingly tattered. Based on observations on Sunday afternoon almost one kilometer of beach was eroded. The problem at Kuta Beach is getting more complete with the arrival of organic waste carried by sea water. As a result, this condition reduces the view of Kuta Beach which has been the target of many domestic and foreign tourists. Head of the Environmental and Hygiene Service of Badung Regency, I Wayan Puja, when confirmed, did not deny that there was a lot of garbage on Kuta Beach. "Not only at Kuta Beach, in Jimbaran and Nusa Dua there has also been a lot of garbage," said Puja.
Context: Reportedly 30 tons of garbage were removed from Kuta Beach (Indonesian) on Sunday. Other media reported on houses being swept away in Negara (Indonesian), warnings to fishermen (Indonesian), and tons of flotsam (Indonesian) deposited on beaches at Legian and Seminyak. For those wanting to post photos of the trash on social media, other news reports that Kuta Beach now has free WiFi (Indonesian).
“Death Toll from Mount Semeru's Eruption Reaches 13” from Antara: The death toll from the eruption of Mount Semeru in East Java, rose to 13 as of 09:20 a.m. on Sunday, according to Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Lt,. Gen. Suharyanto. The eruption also left tens of people injured and they have been receiving medical treatment, the BNPB said in a press statement released on Sunday. According to the BNPB, 41 people were referred to Haryoto Regional General Hospital and Bhayangkara Police Hospital after receiving first aid care at the Penanggal public health service post. Meanwhile, 40 people are being treated at Pasiran public health service post, seven people at Candipuroi public service post and 10 people at Penanggal public service post. Mount Semeru erupted and spewed volcanic ash on Saturday afternoon. According to the observation, the volcano stopped spewing hot clouds when rains fell in its crater.
Context: Other reports put the death toll at 14. Bromo continues to operate as normal (Indonesian), as do airports in both Malang and Surabaya (Indonesian) in East Java. Other media report there are minor flight routing changes as a result of the eruption.
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Other Headlines
“Indonesia to Send Umrah Pilgrims to Saudi Despite Omicron Threat” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The government will allow pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia for umrah later this month, a move that experts say is risky given the threat of the emerging Omicron variant, which has been detected in the gulf country. The Religious Affairs Ministry’s haj and umrah director general Hilman Latief said there were no plans to restrict umrah pilgrims at the moment and the first batch of pilgrims were expected to depart in the middle of this month. "We’ll push through with the plan [to send umrah pilgrims], since there is currently no travel ban between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia," Hilman said on Friday.
Context: Related news covered problems pilgrims are having regarding their e-visas as the Saudi system does not recognise Chinese vaccinations and the majority of Indonesians have been vaccinated with Sinovac. Meanwhile, as per the story in the health section below, West Nusa Tenggara plans to cancel Christmas holidays and keep school in due to the risks associated with crowds.
Vaccination Update
“Sinovac Becomes Indonesia’s Most Sought-after Vaccine” from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesians had a skeptical attitude toward China’s Sinovac vaccine even when it was their sole choice in the beginning, but the demand for it has been growing rapidly in recent months when alternatives from more famous western pharmacists are available. The demand is so big it puts a brake on the government’s nationwide vaccination drive against Covid-19, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said recently. The pace of inoculation has been slowing down in the last two weeks because many districts and provinces refused to use vaccines other than Sinovac. “Many regional governments prefer to wait for deliveries of Sinovac vaccine,” Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.
Context: Past media reports have highlighted people wanting particular vaccine brands — including the President — but this is the first report we’ve seen suggesting people are holding out for Sinovac.
More...
Nation: “141m Indonesians Receive at Least One Covid-19 Vaccine Jab” from The Jakarta Globe
Nation: “Gov't Targets Achieving 50% Second-dose Vaccination Target by December” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Receives 324,000 Janssen Vaccine From the Netherlands” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“No Christmas and New Year Holidays in West Nusa Tenggara” from Bali Express (Indonesian): The West Nusa Tenggara Education and Culture Office asks parents and students to understand the government's policy of eliminating Christmas and New Year's holidays from December 24, 2021 to January 2, 2022. "We ask that all students and parents understand and adjust the policy of no semester breaks during Christmas and New Year," said Head of the NTB Education and Culture Office Aidy Furqon on Sunday. "So, we have decided that there will be no holidays during Christmas and New Year and this provision applies to all schools and madrasas, including Islamic boarding schools throughout NTB," said Aidy Furqon.
More...
Nation: “Health Industry Investment Priority Amid Pandemic” from Antara
Province: “Task Force Asks People to Stay Disciplined Prokes” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Province: “2021 International Youth Championship Postponed” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: “Ahead of PPKM Level 3, Badung Police Intensify Night Patrols” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Labor Productivity in Bali is Low, Dominated by Middle School Graduates” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): Labor productivity in Bali is still low because it is dominated by junior high school graduates with a percentage of 57.2%. Meanwhile, the school participation rate in 2020 for the SMA/SMK level reached 82.96% and 28.67% for tertiary institutions which were considered relatively low. Deputy for Economics at the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said the workforce, which was dominated by junior high school graduates, resulted in poor quality for the world of work. In fact, the average labor productivity in Bali is still far below the national average. "We need to increase the average length of schooling and Bali's economic transformation through smart and healthy Bali, so that the workforce is more productive and competitive," he said on Friday.
Context: Media reported recently that Indonesia low spending on education was hampering its ability to increase its capacity for innovation.
More...
Province: “Jokowi Values Bali Needs Economic Diversification” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Karangasem: “The Regent Is Ready to Make Karangasem a Cotton Production Center” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Ubud Tourism Area Will Be Divided into Three Zones” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): The National Development Planning Agency plans to divide the tourist areas of Ubud, Tegallalang, and Payangan in Bali into three tourist zones. The three tourist zones consist of zone one or core zone, zone two namely cultural tourism, and zone three namely nature tourism. Deputy for Regional Development at the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas Rudy S. Prawiradinata said the establishment of the Ulapan tourism area, namely Ubud, Tegalalang, and Payangan, was a form of transformation of Bali tourism. In the future, Ulapan will become a tourism model that synergizes with other sectors, such as agriculture. In addition, through Ulapan, transportation conditions in the area will also be regulated so as to minimize congestion problems.
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Of Interest
“Two Tourists Fall into the Gorge” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“French Citizen Dies at Lempuyang Temple” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“How Indonesians Vent Their Frustration Online” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
“Police Thwart Illegal Chicken-liquor Smuggling in Bali” from Detik (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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