February 17, 2022
Bali welcomes back tourists with flight from Singapore + Quarantine officially reduced to three days (with conditions) + Bali wants to totally remove quarantine from March + more
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
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The Big News
“Bali Welcomes Back Tourists With Flight From Singapore” from Agence France-Presse: Bali began a tentative re-opening to foreign tourists on Wednesday with the first international passenger flight to the island in nearly two years. The resumption of flights comes as the nation loosens quarantine rules even as it battles a surge in Covid cases fuelled by the Omicron variant. A Singapore Airlines plane carrying 109 international travellers and 47 Indonesians landed in Bali on Wednesday, the island's governor Wayan Koster said. Singapore Airlines said it will operate daily flights between the city-state and Bali to meet "good demand". Other airlines including Jetstar Airways could resume flights to Bali as early as next month, Bali's governor added.
Context: The total number of passengers and crew on the flight vary depending on the news report you read, but the following one suggests 172 passengers and crew, and breaks down the visas the foreign passengers were on (Indonesian). Of the passengers, they write 82 foreigners came using Visa 211, 28 with Limited Stay Permit Cards (KITAS), and 2 with APEC Business Travel Cards (ABTC).
“PPLN Quarantine Duration Reduced Due to Omicron Incubation Period” from Antara: The COVID-19 Handling Task Force stated that the quarantine duration for international travelers (PPLN), especially booster vaccine recipients, was reduced to three days based on the incubation period for the Omicron variant. "The provision was made based on the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant, which is three days," Head of Health Handling of the COVID-19 Task Force Alexander Ginting said on Wednesday. Provisions for the latest quarantine duration are contained in Circular of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Number 7 of 2021 on Health Protocols for Overseas Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic that was released on February 16.
Context: While previously reported, the issuance of the above-mentioned letter makes the reduction in quarantine official policy. The reduced incubation period for Omicron is based on a US CDC study of six patients from late last year.
“Bali Wants to Remove Quarantine for Tourists Starting in March” from Detik (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster plans to remove quarantine for tourists visiting Bali in March. According to Koster, Omicron has been controlled. "I have tried the quarantine period which was originally 7 days, reduced to 5 days, and as of today it has become 3 days. And my plan if possible in early March it will be without quarantine," said Koster on Wednesday. Koster said 90% of cases of the Omicron variant in Bali were people without symptoms (OTG) or had mild symptoms. "About 8% are admitted to the hospital. And the OTG recovers on average in under 5 days, so it's fast. What does that mean? It means that the risk of transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 can be controlled, the transmission is not too dangerous," said Koster.
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Other Headlines
“Governor Koster Says Ogoh-Ogoh Parade Allowed” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The tug-of-war or the ogoh-ogoh parade was answered on Wednesday. The Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, took a middle path by allowing nyomya bhutakala in the form of the ogoh-ogoh procession, although there were restrictions on its implementation. “As an artist who cannot be separated from creativity, I appreciate the policy of the Governor of Bali. Thus, the creativity of the yowana to express their ideas in the form of ogoh-ogoh with all their creations can continue," said I Kadek Arimbawa, Chairman of the Bali Arts Foundation, on Wednesday.
Context: This follows on from news on Tuesday that the Ogoh-ogoh procession had been banned (Indonesian). The following report, centered on Badung, indicates that there remain a variety of point of views on the viability of the parade (Indonesian).
Vaccination Update
“Second Vaccination Dose for NTB Targeted at 80% Before MotoGP” from Republika (Indonesian): Deputy Head of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Vaccination Distribution of West Nusa Tenggara Province, Kombes Pol. Awan Hariyono targets that the completion of the second dose of vaccination in the province must reach 80% before the MotoGP event on March 18-20. "Seven days before the MotoGP event, we have been given a target for the second dose of vaccine, which must be 80%," said Awan on Tuesday. He said that out of 10 districts and cities in NTB, only three regions achieved very good results of the second dose of vaccination. "Central Lombok, the second dose was 68.49% or 525,809 people, while the first dose was 90.88%," said Awan.
More...
Nation: “National Police Chief Targets 1.1 Million Booster Vaccinations in Indonesia” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: “Booster Vaccines in Jembrana Intensified to Remote Areas” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“90% of Covid Cases in Indonesia Omicron Says Health Ministry” from Tempo: The Indonesian Ministry of Health said that Omicron is now the dominant Covid-19 variant in Indonesia, making up 98% of active cases. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the ministry's director for the prevention and control of direct communicable diseases, said that this is due to the highly transmissible characteristics of the new variant of Coronavirus. "Over the last 30 days, Omicron cases have made up 98% of the cases, only two percent is of other variants," Siti said on Wednesday.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Reports Biggest Daily Jump in Covid-19 Infections” from Antara
Nation: “Muhammadiyah Plans to Boost Hospital Bed Capacity” from Antara
Nation: “Isolation Beds in Hospitals Still Adequate Says Ministry” from Antara
Nation: “Covid-19 Cases Projected to Increase in Next Few Days Says Official” from Antara
Nation: “Business Places Facing Difficulty Accessing Pedulilindungi” from Antara
Economy & Infrastructure
“2022 MotoGP Pre-season Test Categorized as a Success Says Minister” from Antara: The 2022 MotoGP Pre-Season Test is categorized as a success and has drawn the attention of the international automotive world as well as tourism and creative economy players. Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno lauded President Joko Widodo, 2022 Mandalika MotoGP Field Commander Hadi Tjahjanto, and all parties involved in the preparations for this Pre-Season test. However, several corrections are necessary to improve the circuit's readiness once the race begins. The first area of concern is the limited number of immigration counters at Lombok Airport. The second pertains to education for all workers, so that they can follow the travel bubble procedure. The third point of contention is that several hotels for international travelers in Lombok had yet to be verified.
Context: In related news, as first reported yesterday, almost 20% of the brand new track surface needs to be resurfaced. Elsewhere, in anticipation of the reported 100,000 attendees, some of the additional public transport facilities (including 188 buses, four shipping lanes and the designation of Bali’s airport as a backup airport) has been outlined as a part of a IDR 21.2 billion allocation. While hotels in Mandalika are apparently full, the overall occupancy in Lombok is only 35%. Organisers have refuted rumors that the race will be pushed back to the end of the year. Police are cracking down on drones (Indonesian) flying near the track.
More...
Nation: “15 Companies Unable to Get Solar PV Permits Says Association” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “BRIN Developing Driverless Electric Car” from Antara
Nation: “Govt Aiming to Lift 3 Million Out of Extreme Poverty” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Govt Sets 5.3%-5.9% GDP Growth Forecast for 2023” from Reuters
Education
“Karangasem Lacks 705 Elementary and Middle School Teachers” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The lack of teaching staff continues to be an obstacle in the world of education in Karangasem. In fact, the teacher crisis occurred from the elementary school and junior high school education levels with a total of 705 teaching staff. The head of the Karangasem Education, Youth and Sports Agency, I Wayan Sutrisna, said that the shortage of teachers in Karangasem had been going on for a long time. Most of the needs are at the junior high school level. A total of 413 teachers. As for SD, Karangasem still lacks 292 teachers.
Of Interest
“Indonesian Trans Icon Dorce Gamalama Passes Away at 58” from Coconuts Jakarta
“New Ancient Inscription Adds Insight Into Mataram Kingdom History” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
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