February 3, 2022
Bali has thousands of active Covid-19 cases, majority in isolation + Indonesia's Covid-19 cases rise 40-fold in a month + Task Force issues regulation cutting quarantine to 5 days + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Bali Has Thousands of Active Covid-19 Cases, Majority Are in Isolation” from Bali Post (Indonesian): As Bali continues to increase daily COVID-19 cases, the number of active cases as of Tuesday has reached thousands. Of the thousands of cases that are still confirmed positive, 83.96% are undergoing isolation, either independently or centrally. According to the head of the Bali Provincial Health Office, Made Rentin, there is an increase in active cases under treatment, however, those undergoing treatment at referral hospitals are relatively low, reaching 16.04%. He said as of February 1, the number of active cases reached 2,538 people. There are 407 patients undergoing treatment at the hospital. 724 people underwent centralized isolation, while those who underwent self-isolation reached 1,407 people. Currently, 1,335 Isoter beds are available in 87 locations spread across 9 regencies/cities. For bed occupancy, he said 724 beds were occupied.
“Indonesia's COVID-19 Cases Rise 40-fold in One Month” from Tempo: The National COVID-19 Task Force reported that Indonesia saw a significant spike in the number of people exposed to the coronavirus in the past week. A spokesman for the task force Wiku Adisasmito outlined there were more than 1,400 cases in the first week of January 2022, but in the last week, more than 56,000 positive cases were recorded. “There is a spike to 56,000 cases in one week. This number increases 40 times compared to that of early January,” said Wiku on Wednesday. In terms of daily positive cases, he said, there was also a very rapid spike. On February 1 yesterday, new daily cases had reached more than 16,000. Higher than when the first wave of Covid-19 occurred in December 2020. The daily positivity rate from the antigen and PCR tests also increased. Based on the latest data, it reached 6% or above the WHO standard, Wiku said. Previously, the daily positivity rate was consistent at just 0-2%.
“Task Force Issues Regulation Cutting Quarantine to Five Days” from Antara: The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has implemented a five-day quarantine policy for Indonesian international travelers who have been fully immunized against the virus. "This regulation has passed through study and formulation that we had done with related parties," the task force's health handling head, Alexander K. Ginting, said on Wednesday. The regulation also stipulates that the seven-day quarantine remains in place for international travelers who have received the first vaccine dose, Ginting said. It also makes it mandatory for Indonesian and international travelers to show complete dose vaccination cards or certificates, physical or digital, at least 14 days before departure, he said.
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The Movement of Recovery (Yayasan Pergerakan Pemulihan) is one of the main drivers of mental health services in Bali. Together with BBB Community, they launched LISA (Love Inside Suicide Awareness), a helpline which offers support in Bahasa Indonesian and English. They offer free counselling and support for those in need. For more information, please visit their website here.
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Other Headlines
“Japan to Bali Garuda Flight Will Carry Six Foreign Tourists” from Kompas (Indonesian): A total of six foreign tourists from Japan are scheduled to land in Bali on Thursday, said the Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Task Force, I Made Rentin. He added that his party had coordinated with I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. "The international arrivals terminal at Ngurah Rai yesterday stated its readiness. Moreover, tomorrow the first Garuda flight will only contain six passengers, they come from abroad - if I'm not mistaken from Japan," Rentin said on Wednesday.
Context: According to Garuda Indonesia website, the aircraft being used on the route is a A330-200, which has 36 business class seats and 186 economy seats.
Vaccination Update
Nation: “BPOM Issues EUA for Sinopharm as Booster Shot” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Bubble System to Be Implemented for Mandalika MotoGP” from Antara: A travel bubble will be implemented for MotoGP Indonesia 2022, which will take place from March 18–20, the organizers said. Deputy director of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association, Cahyadi Wanda, said that the travel bubble will be implemented to maintain the security and safety of people considering the current pandemic situation. The system will come into effect during the pre-season test from February 11–13, he said. "So, once the racers and officials land, they will be separated from the community. They will be in ‘a bubble’ and will only meet with fellow committee members," Wanda said on Wednesday.
More...
Nation: “Epidemiologist Argues Indonesia Has Entered a Covid-19 Third Wave” from Tempo
Nation: “Covid-19 Still Threat to Vulnerable Groups” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Adds 10,000 Beds for Covid Patients as Omicron Cases Soar” from Tempo
Nation: “1,100 Patients Recover From Omicron” from The Jakarta Globe
Nation: “Task Force: Bed Occupancy Will Determine Regional PPKM Level” from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: “Ahead of Bali Reopening, Police to Crackdown on Quarantine Games” from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Central Lombok DPRD Rejects MotoGP Event Tax Relief Proposal by ITDC” from Republika (Indonesian): Central Lombok DPRD member, West Nusa Tenggara Iwan Sutrisno stated that he rejected the proposal for tax relief at the Mandalika Circuit MotoGP which had been proposed by PT Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), to the local government of 15%. This waiver request is based on this year's MotoGP audience capacity which is not yet 100%. "According to the rules, the tax that must be paid is 30%," said Iwan Sutrisno on Wednesday. Previously, PT ITDC proposed a letter of application for tax relief at the MotoGP event at the Mandalika Circuit on the grounds that the number of spectators was limited as in the 2021 World Superbike (WSBK) event, which was 15%.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Records Trade Surplus of US$2.92 Billion With China” from Antara
Nation: “Garuda Indonesia Denies Layoff Rumors” from Tempo
Nation: “13.6 Million Merchants Use QRIS in 2021” from Antara
Nation: “Digital Identity Infrastructure Being Developed to Secure Transactions” from Antara
Province: “Garuda Indonesia Transports Tuna From Bali to Japan” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: “Disposal Site Overloaded, End of 2022 Predicted to be Full” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Education
“Calls Mount in Indonesia for School Closures as Omicron Cases Rise” from The Straits Times: Indonesia's government is under mounting pressure to close schools temporarily as the number of Covid-19 infections rises significantly in the country, driven primarily by the highly transmissible but less severe Omicron variant. Schools in some parts of the archipelago have already suspended face-to-face learning because students are infected. The national coordinator of the Society for Education and Teachers, Satriwan Salim, has called for all schools to react in the event of a spike in Covid-19 cases. "To avert a surge in cases, schools in the areas where the Omicron-induced cases are rising, should halt face-to-face learning," he said. But, noting the inequality of Internet access and infrastructure among regions across the sprawling archipelago, he added: "Or at least, they return to limited face-to-face learning: half of their students study at school and the rest at home."
More...
Nation: “Jakarta Governor Suggests Halting Offline Learning for a Month” from Antara
Nation: “Daily Covid-19 Cases Rise, NTB Evaluates Face-to-face Learning” from Republika (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Covid-19 Cases in Denpasar Soar, School Clusters Are One of the Causes” from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Klungkung: “Covid-19 Spread, Two Klungkung Schools Forced to Close” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“‘Bali is Reopening, But We Can’t Get There’” from The Australian Financial Review (Paywall): Bali is reopening and West Australians can finally return to their favourite holiday playground. The catch is they’ll need to quarantine for five days upon arriving in Bali and two weeks once they get back to WA – a burden tourism operators think few holidaymakers will be willing to bear. Indonesian officials announced on Monday that Bali would welcome back all foreign visitors this week, with the quarantine period for vaccinated international travellers trimmed from seven days to five. Pre-pandemic, about 7,500 West Australians would fly to Bali each week. Travellers from Perth, which is closer to Jakarta than Australia’s east coast capitals, will also be required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine when they return to Australia.
Context: While there has been considerable coverage of Indonesia’s decision to reduce the length of quarantine, few news stories have noted the quarantine stretch prospective travelers will face at the end of the holiday. In this case West Australia’s quarantine on returning visitors is almost triple that of Indonesia’s.
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Of Interest
“Mayor of Jaya Negara Opens Balinese Language Month” from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
“Drunk Russian Tourist Fell While Urinating on the Edge of the Gorge” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Foreigners Beat Other Foreigners, Victims Imprisoned Over Missing Rental Motorbikes” from Bali Puspa News (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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