Friday, April 10
Bali has worst infection day yet, joins ranks of country's "Red Zones" + Hard to believe it needs to be said, but there are no 'Plague Winds' + Japanese Consul complains of racial profiling + more!
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Friday, April 10. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
If you've got a tip on a story that should be included, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
Status Update
Sources:
Charts are from Worldometers and are current as of 00:00 GMT today.
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
key:
Source: Infographic comes from Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (Link). Charts have been compiled using their data.
Resources
Important information for foreigners who are staying on the island, such as designated COVID-19 hospitals and emergency contact numbers, can be found by following this link.
The government has cancelled its visa-on-arrival process and rolled out enhanced entry requirements for people traveling to Indonesia; they have also granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are two of the best up-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is the global lobbying body for the aviation industry. Their alerts feed into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable database of flight restrictions around.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each country's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
The Big News
"With 63 Covid-19 Positive Patients Spread Across All Regencies / Cities in Bali, Entire Island Is A 'Red Zone'" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The spread of Covid-19 is inevitable. Day by day, the spread is increasingly massive. Based on the latest data reported from the infocorona.baliprov.go.id, all regencies / cities in Bali are exposed to Corona. That is, all districts / cities have now become a red zone. Of the 63 positive Covid-19 patients, Denpasar still has the highest number.
"HOAX: Warning About 'Plague Winds' Over Next 3 Days Are False" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): A message circulating on WhatsApp claiming to bear advice from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to wear masks on March 10 to 12 due to "north-south wind currents" that could spread disease are false... Acting Deputy for Meteorology, Drs. Herizal, M.Sc, said that the information stating that there would be a north-south carrying an outbreak of disease, was certainly not from BMKG and the contents of the information were hoaxes and could not be justified.
"Imported Cases of COVID-19 Dominating In Bali" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Positive COVID-19 case data in Bali is dominated by imported cases. Both those infected because they have a history of travel from abroad or from outside the affected area... Bali Governor Wayan Koster has stated that the trend is for COVID-19 positive patients to be found among Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI), and it continues to increase- mainly among PMI who previously worked in America and Italy... On Wednesday, 15 out of 49 positive cases in Bali were recorded as PMI or imported cases. On Thursday, there were 14 additional positive cases, 12 of which were also imported cases because they had a history of overseas travel.
Other Headlines
"Japanese Consul Complains of Discrimination Against Japanese Citizens in Bali" from the IDN Times (Indonesian): Consulate General of Japan in Denpasar, HE Chiba Hirohisa, recently sent a letter to the Provincial Government of Bali, regarding reports of discrimination against a number of Japanese citizens in Bali, including his family. The Daily Chairman of the Bali Province Coronavirus Disease Task Force, Dewa Made Indra, has finally responded to the letter... The intended discriminatory behavior arses from people associatinh COVID-19 with the Japanese, as if they are carriers of the virus. "I emphasize that COVID-19 is not related to certain ethnic groups and is not related to certain countries. So it is not appropriate to carry out discriminatory actions or remarks against certain citizens or ethnic groups," explained Dewa Indra in the Province Public Relations' YouTube Live stream on Thursday."
"Badung Feels Greatest Impact from COVID-19, Tens of Thousands Laid Off" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The COVID-19 outbreak has paralyzed the world economic sector, including Bali. The powerful impact of this virus is strongly felt in Badung Regency which depends on the tourism sector... Based on data up to April 8, the total number of companies closed was 205. While the number of workers laid off by 20,272. This has increased from the previous day, April 7, which saw 174 companies closed with the number of workers laid off reaching 16,448.
"As A result of Pandemic, 65,982 Additional Aid Recipients Added to Rolls In Bali" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Family Hope Program, which includes non-cash food assistance for the purchase of basic food items, has shifted its payout schedule from quarterly to monthly starting April... Member of the PDI-P faction in the DPR RI Bali Electoral District, I Gusti Ngurah Kesuma Kelakan, said that the number of recipients of aid in Bali has increased by 65,982 to a total of 207,201.
"From Millions to Hundreds of Thousands, Luxury Hotels In Bali Slash Prices" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Based on Radar Bali on the app Traveloka, hotels that are usually expensive have reduced the price for staying at their hotels by an average of 50%... For example, Atanaya Kuta Bali has fallen from its previous price of Rp. 711,480 to Rp. 298,822; Paditeras Boutique Hotel Seminyak has dropped from Rp. 1,258,000 to Rp. 503,200. There are other hotels that offer prices in the neighborhood of Rp. 100,000 per day, with others selling monthly prices like boarding houses.
"Head of Hotel & Restaurant Trade Group Urges Foreign Owners to Invest in Bali, Not 'Hit And Run'" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): In the midst of the worst decline in the travel industry in history, with 96% of hotels on the island closed due to 0% occupancy rates, the Chairman of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Indonesia's Badung division, Agung Rai Suryawijaya, is calling on foreign entrepreneurs who invest in Bali to help by spending money to save Bali and Bali tourism... There are around 250 4- and 5-star hotels and 300 3-star hotels owned by foreign investors in Bali. "If each one spends Rp. 100 million, then the donation will certainly help the Bali government and the people to overcome COVID-19. I urge them not to hit and run in Bali.
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Migration Media, the hub for stories from and about the international migrant experience.
Our standards
We only list news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
For all stories marked "Indonesian" we have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. When possible, we will provide a short summary in proper English to help get the details of the piece across more efficiently, and we will polish the excerpt to help clarify the details.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.