February 28, 2022
Depending on situation, Indonesia to trial quarantine-free Bali arrival from March 14 + Nusa Penida to turn off electricity over Nyepi + Bali Airport to welcome more international flights + more
Good morning!
Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, February 28. In today’s edition, we have news of a possible quarantine-free trial for Bali and a possible removal of the visa-sponsor requirement from March 14, but both are subject to a range of conditions. Across the water, Nusa Penida has announced they’ll be turning off the power over Nyepi while on greater Bali there is talk of switching the internet off completely. At the airport, there is news of more carriers signing up to fly in, along with data on the growing number of passengers flying direct to the Island of the Gods. Scroll down for the full wrap on what has been happening in Bali and Indonesia since you last heard from us.
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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 steady fall in daily cases, and remain in double figures, though the trend is downwards.
The Big News
“Indonesia to Trial Quarantine-free Arrival in Bali From March 14” from Xinhua: The Indonesian government will conduct a trial on receiving international travelers without quarantine to Bali beginning March 14 under certain conditions, a senior minister said on Sunday. The trial may be launched before March 14 if the government sees positive development in the next one week for the continued downward trend in the COVID-19 cases in Bali, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said. He pointed out that Bali was chosen as the pilot project location because the rate of two-dose vaccination in the province is higher than in other provinces. If the trial in Bali is successful, the government will expand the non-quarantine policy across Indonesia on April 1, or sooner.
Context: Other outlets highlighted the tentative nature (Indonesian) of Minister Luhut’s announcement while elsewhere, coverage mentioned a plan to remove the need for a sponsor for visas (Indonesian).
“Electricity in Nusa Penida Will Be Completely Extinguished During Nyepi Day” from Kumparan (Indonesian): PLN will conduct a total power outage on Nusa Penida on March 3, 2022 for Nyepi. The blackout is to be carried out at the request of the customary apparatus and the government in Nusa Penida. "It was extinguished because the sound of the generator made noise. This blackout is in accordance with letters from indigenous villages and local authorities," said PLN UID Bali Public Relations Manager I Made Arya on Friday. The total blackout on Nusa Penida Island will last for 24 hours. Starting from March 3 at 06.00 until March 4 at 06.00 WITA.
Context: While the power may stay on in greater Bali, Bali’s government is planning to turn off mobile data and IPTV (Indonesian) over Nyepi, while there have been requests to shut down all internet services (Indonesian). In related news, Bank of Indonesia has suggested teams should monitor food stocks ahead of Nyepi. Meanwhile in Denpasar, Pecalung will use electric scooters to keep the noise down as they check all are indoors and the lights are out (Indonesian). Padang Bai port will be closed over Nyepi, you can see the details on operating hours here (Indonesian). If you’re interested in learning more about Nyepi, this podcast may be of interest.
“Bali Airport to Welcome More International Flights” from Tempo: Indonesia's airport operator Angkasa Pura I announced that there would be more international flights operating in Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. “We're very enthusiastic about the resumption of increasing international flights at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport. This will add to the list of international airlines operating in Bali,” said AP I president director, Faik Fahmi, on Saturday. He explained that until February 24, the permit for five airlines had been issued, and one airline is in the process of route reactivation through the Air Transport Director of Transportation Ministry for March 2022. The five airlines are Jetstar Asia for Singapore - Denpasar, Scoot for Singapore - Denpasar, KLM for Singapore - Denpasar, Garuda Indonesia for Sydney - Denpasar, and AirAsia for Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar. Jetstar also has the Sydney - Denpasar and Melbourne - Denpasar routes in the process of reactivation.
Context: In related news, over 1,600 tourists have flown in to Bali since February 4.
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Other Headline
“Central Government Highlights Garbage Handling in Bali, Luhut Intervenes” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The waste problem in Bali has become the focus of the central government and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has stepped in. Luhut Binsar Panjaitan inspected the acceleration of waste handling at the Padangsambian Kaja TPST, West Denpasar, on Friday. "We want to make Bali clean, where later we will make 3 TPST in Denpasar, the first in Padangsambian Kaja Village," said Luhut. He said TPST will also be built in Tahura Ngurah Rai and Kesiman Kertalangu which will be able to accommodate a minimum of 820 tons of waste per day for processing. "The target is to finish by the end of July 2022," he said. It is hoped that if this goes well and smoothly, this October-December Bali including Denpasar will be much cleaner.
Vaccination Update
“Hundreds of Tourism Actors Take Booster Vaccinations in Seminyak” from Bali Post (Indonesian): Hundreds of tourism workers in Seminyak participated in a booster vaccination at Balai Banjar Seminyak on Saturday. According to the Head of the Seminyak Environment, Wayan Sunarta, a total of 700 business people were vaccinated against the booster. They consist of hoteliers, restaurants, villas and employees. Before being injected with this 3rd dose of vaccine, they must follow a health registration and screening process. Vaccination targets business actors and their workers because booster vaccination is mandatory for business actors, especially in tourism, because they will be in direct contact with tourists.
More...
Nation: “9.8 Million Indonesians Have Received Booster Dose” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccination Aims to Protect People From Covid-19 Says President” from Antara
Nation: “Follow Health Protocols and Get Vaccinated Says Police Chief” from Antara
Nation: “Second Dose Vaccination and Elderly Outside Java-Bali Accelerated” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Indonesia Logs Highest Recovery Count Since Onset of Pandemic” from Antara: The Health Ministry recorded that the daily COVID-19 recoveries had reached 61,361 on Friday, the highest since the start of the pandemic, according to the ministry's COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi. Tarmizi noted that this recovery figure surpasses the previous record of 48,832 people on August 6, 2021. Meanwhile, the daily case count on Friday recorded a decline to reach 49,447 as compared to 57,426 people on the previous day. Meanwhile, the trend of COVID-19 patient treatment in hospitals was pegged at 37% from the total national capacity. "Today, we record that several pandemic handling indicators show a positive figure, starting from the recovery rate to daily cases and the treated COVID-19 patient figure," she said.
More...
Nation: “Self-isolation for Covid-19 Patients Shortened to 7 Days Says Health Ministry” from Coconuts Jakarta
Nation: “PPKM Outside Jave-Bali Extended For Two Weeks” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Government Mulls Implementing ‘Plastic Credit’ to Reduce Waste” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The government has said that it is mulling whether to implement a plastic credit scheme in a move to address mounting concerns about plastic waste in the country, although an expert has expressed concerns that such a scheme could allow producers to shift their responsibilities to others. Under the plastic credit scheme, a certain quantity of collected and recycled plastic is converted to a unit of “credit” that can be sold to plastic creditors seeking to reduce their plastic footprints. The funds raised from the credit transaction are then used to finance initiatives to collect and recycle plastic waste following audits by a third party to confirm how much plastic waste has been collected or recycled and how much credit is sold to the buyers.
Context: The World Wildlife Fund’s position on “plastic credit” schemes can be seen here.
More...
Nation: “Govt Mulls Plan to Form New Entity to Collect Coal Levies” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “Indonesia Seeks to Be Among Top Five Fishery Product Exporters” from Antara
Nation: “SOEs Ministry Supports Stabilization of Cooking Oil Prices” from Antara
Nation: “PLN to Install 36 Rooftop Solar Panels for G20 Summit in Bali” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Aiming Far Too Low to Reach Climate Goals Says Think Tank” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall
Bali Reopening
“A Month of International Flights Opened, Layoffs Even Increased in Bali” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The opening of international flights to Bali does not necessarily make the taps of jobs live on. Almost a month after the international flight opened, no company either hotel or restaurant that hired its employees. Thousands of laid-off employees still have no call back to work. Conversely, the number of job cuts (layoffs) is recorded to continue to rise. "In addition to no company that has reported re-hiring its employees, we currently more often handle industrial relations mediation," said Head of Badung Industry and Labor Office, Ida Bagus Oka Dirga, on Friday. Oka said that the post-tsunami economic recovery, especially in the tourism sector, took a long time.
Of Interest
“Ukrainians in Bali Condemn Russia’s Invasion, Call for Peace and Justice” from Coconuts Bali
“Umalas Community Plan Security Watch as Crime Rates Soar” from Coconuts Bali
“Uzbekistanian Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Business Papers From His Own Business” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Dutch Apology Over Violence in Indonesia Rekindles Pain of Revolutionary Period” from CNA
“At Least 10 Dead in Sumatra Earthquake as Search Continues” from AP
“Two Russians Deported Over Falsified Paperwork” 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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