February 21, 2022
3 International airlines apply for Bali flights + Governor says there is a visa & quarantine mafia in Bali + Danone accused of being a Bali river polluter + 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: Bali’s daily cases have been dropping since the peak of 2,556 on February 8. Deaths are lagging behind the drop in daily cases, with daily deaths remaining in two figures for in excess of the last ten days.
The Big News
“Three International Airlines Apply for Resuming Flights to Bali” from Antara: State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I received applications from three international airline companies to resume flights to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali in March 2022. The three international airline companies are KLM Royal Dutch, Scoot Tiger Air, and JetStar Airways, Angkasa Pura I President Director Faik Fahmi said on Saturday. Fahmi noted that KLM Royal Dutch will fly four times a week on the Singapore-Denpasar flight route, using the 408-seater capacity Boeing B-777s.Bali Governor Wayan Koster noted that the national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will resume flights from Sydney to Denpasar to support the reopening of international routes to Bali.
“Governor Says There Is Mafia Visa and Quarantine in Bali” from Media Indonesia (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster complained to Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, related to the alleged visa mafia and quarantine mafia. Koster said there are many hotels in Bali that are designated as quarantine hotels carrying out levies beyond normal prices. The price per room that has been published to guests, then added again on the grounds that it is a quarantine hotel. According to him, there are 27 hotels designated as quarantine places to do this. For Koster, this is very difficult for tourists. "They come all the way and want to have fun in Bali, have to face the harsh reality. Damaged the image of Bali tourism," he said. Related to the visa mafia, Koster continued, the normal price of visa is Rp1.5 million and even only Rp1 million. By some travel agents the price is increased.
Context: The following related story from the ABC covers some of the same ground regarding the alleged long-running scams out of Jakarta, and includes denials from both the Task Force and the Hotel Association, despite the president having called for an investigation into the problem.
“Danone Aqua, Solar Wings Accused of Being River Polluters in Bali” from Berita Satu (Indonesian): Plastic waste of Danone Aqua bottled water products is said to be the most widely splashed and pollutes the river waters in Bali. This was revealed in a report titled Impact Report released by Sungai Watch. This Bali-based environmental nonprofit revealed that Danone Aqua is the company that pollutes the environment the most. The findings were sourced from an analysis of 227,842 items of corporate waste, including saset, plastic bottles, hard plastic, disposable cups, cans and glass glasses, collected by Sungai Watch volunteers in river waters in Bali between October 2020 and December 2021. "Danone Aqua waste covers 27,486 items or 12% of the total corporate waste," said Gary Bencheghib, founder of Sungai Watch on Sunday.
Context: You can download the full Sungai Watch report here.
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Other Headline
“‘We Are Afraid’: Erin Brockovich Pollutant Linked to Global Electric Car Boom” from The Guardian: A Guardian investigation into nickel mining and the electric vehicle industry has found evidence that a source of drinking water close to one of Indonesia’s largest nickel mines is contaminated with unsafe levels of hexavalent chromium (Cr6), the cancer-causing chemical more widely known for its role in the Erin Brockovich story and film. The investigation also found evidence suggesting elevated levels of lung infections among people living close to the mine. Nickel, an essential component in electric vehicle batteries, could bring transformational wealth to a country where Covid has pushed the number of people in poverty up to 10.19%. Yet people living on the remote Obi Island, which has recently become home to one of Indonesia’s largest nickel mines, just want clean and safe water.
Vaccination Update
“Prioritize Vaccine Booster in Places With High Social Interaction” from Antara: President Joko Widodo urged the Central Sulawesi provincial government along with the National Police and Indonesia Defense Forces to prioritize administering the COVID-19 booster vaccine in regions with high social interaction. "We must administer the COVID-19 booster vaccine in regions with high social interactions," Jokowi said on Friday.
More...
Tabanan: “33,636 Tabanan People Have Been Vaccinated Booster” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Delta Variant Still Lingering Amid Omicron Spike Says Task Force” from Antara: Though Indonesia is facing a third wave of COVID-19 triggered by the Omicron variant, the Delta variant is still circulating in the country, according to the COVID-19 Task Force. "The Delta variant still exists in Indonesia. There are reports saying that the Delta variant is still circulating," Head of the Health Support Sub-sector for the task force Brigadier General (Ret.) Alexander K. Ginting said on Friday. Data on the province-wise spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variant gathered by the task force shows that the Delta variant is still circulating in the community and its coverage is much wider than the Omicron variant, he said. One of the provinces that is still reporting many cases of Delta variant is West Java, he added.
More...
Nation: “Covid-19 Surge Also Apparent in Regions Beyond Jakarta: BNPB Head” from Antara
Nation: “Infants Account for 3% Omicron Deaths Says Ministry” from Antara
Nation: “Covid Positivity Rate Shoots Past WHO Standard to 18.5%” from Antara
Nation: “Govt Prepares Centralized Isolation Facilities in All Provinces” from Antara
Nation: “BPJS Kesehatan Unveils Online Queue System for Hospitals” from Antara
Economy & Infrastructure
“Labuan Bajo Immigration Establishes Surveillance Team for Foreigners” from Antara: Labuan Bajo Immigration Office formed a special sea and air surveillance team for foreigners there since domestic and foreign visitors frequent the Labuan Bajo tourism area. Sub-section Head for Information Technology, Intelligence, and Immigration Enforcement at Labuan Bajo immigration office Christian Prantigo stated that his side needed to form a team to monitor foreigners in the area that came to travel, invest, and also set up various businesses in the tourist area. "The West Manggarai area, especially Labuan Bajo, is a very strategic place since it has vast tourism potential," Prantigo noted in a statement here on Saturday. The surveillance team was formed with the objective of preventing illegal acts that could endanger security and order, especially owing to the wide area of the Labuan Bajo waters that had to be supervised, Prantigo added.
More...
Nation: “SOEs Must Give Bigger Contribution to Nation: Erick Thohir” from Antara
Nation: “From March 1, Land Buying and Selling Must Have Copy of BPJS Health Card” from Kompas (Indonesian)
Nation: “NTB Government Prepares MotoGP Ticket Assistance for Citizens” from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Gianyar: “Ubud Market to be Razed” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Karangasem: “Bali Governor Calls for Sugar Wine Production in Karangasem to Be Shut Down” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Tired of Waiting for Tourism to Return, Australian Families Embrace a Bali Gap Year” from The Sydney Morning Herald (Metered Paywall): Foreign tourists are slowly starting to trickle back to Bali, which was visited by 1.23 million Australians in 2019 before the pandemic hit, but barriers remain. Quarantine requirements for overseas visitors have for months put the brakes on airlines resuming direct flights to Bali including from Australia. With the prospect of a short stay still problematic, though, some Australians are planning to return to Bali for longer after being grounded since early 2020. While international arrivals to Bali have access to the resort they have booked rather than being confined to a hotel room for quarantine, the resumption of tourism in Bali has been complicated by travellers having to pre-apply for visas, according to Liam Hayes, the Bali-based director of Perth’s Indonesia Institute. “They need to go back to keeping it simple,” Hayes said. “No quarantine and visa on arrival.”
More...
“L'Etape Indonesia Marks Revival of NTB Tourism” from Antara
“Ministry Launches 2022 Indonesian Tourism Village Award” from Antara
Of Interest
“Indonesian Dungeons & Dragons Communities Grow Online” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
“9 Turtles Suspected of Being Smuggled From East Java Sent to Bali, One of Them 90 Years Old” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
“Why Many Bali Hospitality Workers Turned to Farming and Fishing?” from AlJazeera (Video)
“Two Ukrainians and a Russian Deported” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
“Russian, Australian and British Citizens Fight in Canggu Club, Report Each Other to Police” from Radar Bali (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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