Friday, December 11
Country nears WHO's testing level; Bali may be 41% above it + Militia holds large vaccination drill as govt affirms Bali's top priority status + UN official says Bali is ready for intl tourism + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Friday, December 11. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Saturday morning, along with each evening’s Covid-19 update. If you are already a subscriber, thank you! Please be sure to share it with others in the foreigner community on the island by clicking the button below.
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*NOTE: Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Indonesia’s COVID-19 Testing Capacity Approaching WHO’s Target: Task Force" from The Jakarta Post: COVID-19 testing capacity in Indonesia has slightly increased on a weekly basis as the country aims to test 267,000 people per week, as targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the national COVID-19 task force, Indonesia’s weekly testing capacity reached 96.35% of the WHO’s target in the first week of December. The WHO has set a target for each country to test one suspected case per 1,000 head of population per week. Last week, Indonesia managed to test 244,739 people, or 90.64% of the WHO's target.
(Ed. Note: The government does not regularly disclose regional testing numbers, so it is not easy to independently track these figures. Last week, Dr. Dewi Nur Aisyah, head of data and information technology at the COVID-19 task force, said that Bali was one of 11 provinces that were meeting the WHO’s testing target, but she did not provide the data that showed this. On Monday, Agus Wibowo, Head of the Directorate of Disaster Management Strategy Development (PSPB), shared cumulative testing figures for all provinces as of December 6 on Twitter. His last update on testing numbers covered the period up to November 4. According to these data, between those dates, Bali was able to reach an average of 1,021 tests per day, which works out to 7,147 tests per week during that span. Given the island’s population of 4.22 million, 4,220 tests per week need to be run every 7 days to meet the WHO’s standard, putting Bali 41% ahead of that pace.)
"Kodam IX / Udayana Holds COVID-19 Vaccination Simulation In Bali" from Antara: Kodam IX / Udayana held a simulation of the COVID-19 vaccination in Bali involving the Bali Provincial Health Office, Bali BPBD, and dozens of health workers from the Denpasar Regional Hospital. "The implementation of this COVID-19 vaccination simulation was held because we see that giving vaccines to thousands of millions of people in Indonesia is quite complicated. So with this simulation there can be shadows and preparations," said Pangdam IX / Udayana Maj. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak when met during the implementation. simulation of COVID-19 at Udayana Hospital Denpasar, Thursday. He said that a COVID-19 vaccination was planned in all health facilities, not only in the Kodam IX / Udayana area but in a comprehensive manner. He said the condition depends on the number of vaccines received for Bali.
(Ed. Note: Yesterday, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto confirmed the government’s plan to prioritize vaccine distribution to the hardest-hit provinces on Java and Bali first. Vaccination strategy continues to be worked out at the Regency level, but no comprehensive plans have been released yet, nor has there been a schedule released of how many doses of vaccine will be delivered to the island and how they will be apportioned. Yesterday, Gianyar said that it will require “around 2,350 doses” to inoculate its healthcare workers- the first time that any Regency has laid out role-specific figures. Healthcare workers, military & first responders have been designated by the central government as the first people who will receive the vaccine once distribution begins.)
"Bali ‘Ready’ for International Tourists Before Christmas: UN Tourism Agency" from The Jakarta Post: UN WTO Asia and Pacific director Harry Hwang, who led a delegation to Bali for an on-site assessment, said his team had seen first-hand the implementation of health and safety measures devised by the Indonesian government and the Bali administration to prepare the reopening of the island for international tourists. “I am extremely happy to see Indonesia and Bali. You guys are ready to open for tourism soon, or next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the government announced that Bali is open before Christmas,” Hwang told reporters in Nusa Dua on Thursday.
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Other Headlines
"Latest Data of Candidate Candidates Acquisition of Six Regencies / Cities in Bali" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The 2020 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) was held simultaneously on Wednesday (9/12/2020). There are six regencies / cities in Bali that have participated in organizing this democratic party. Based on data from the General Election Commission (KPU) of Bali Province, there were 1,971,425 Permanent Voters List (DPT) who participated. It is recorded that there are 5,649 polling stations (TPS) with a total of 50,793 polling organizers (KPPS).
(Ed. Note: While specific figures have not been published on island-wide participation yet, the total number of votes cast represents massive turnout for this election. The Bali Tribune has begun analyzing data and has found that voter participation was up in Bangli and Karangasem, reaching 83.33% and 71%, respectively. That's up from 73.98% and 66% in the last election. The goal had been to hit slightly higher turnout rates, but officials blamed bad weather - including a tornado - for the “high” number of abstentions. Meanwhile, Berita Bali is reporting that turnout in Denpasar was just 54% - down from 56% in the last election - far below the Election Commission’s goal of 75% and the Governor’s goal of 85%. Tabanan reportedly reached 81% turnout, up from 77.6% in 2015’s vote. Click the headline above for an easy-to-read rundown of the election results in each Regency.)
"Buleleng Returns to the Orange Zone, Citizens Require Prokes Discipline" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): The number of Covid-19 transmission has increased again in Buleleng. As of December 10, 2020, the Buleleng Covid-19 Task Force recorded 14 positive confirmed cases, and three people who had died. It is suspected that the surge in new cases was the result of examinations and tracing of the finance company cluster and the family cluster. Secretary of the Buleleng Covid-19 Handling Acceleration Task Force, Gede Suyasa stated that from this drastic surge, Buleleng has now returned to the orange zone or is at risk of being infected with Covid-19. Handling continues to be tightened, especially efforts to make people aware of implementing health protocols.
"Indonesia Secures 155.5 mln Doses of Coronavirus Vaccines, Seeks 116 mln More" from Reuters: Indonesia has secured 155.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines and is seeking another 116 million through deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and global vaccine programme COVAX, government data showed on Thursday. If the deals are agreed, Indonesia, Southeast Asia's most populous country with more than 270 million people, would have 271.5 million doses of vaccines, above its target of 246.6 million... It has already secured 125.5 million doses from China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd and 30 million from Novavax Inc , according to data presented to parliament by Budi Gunadi Sadikin, chief of an economic recovery task force. It is in talks with Pfizer and AstraZeneca to buy 50 million doses each and expects to get 16 million doses from the COVAX global vaccine distribution scheme, which is backed by the World Health Organization. It also plans to hold talks this week with vaccine developer Moderna, Budi said.
"Savaya Bali Takes Over Digital Presence of Hyped Dayclub OMNIA in Uluwatu" from Coconuts: The luxurious dayclub OMNIA seems to have closed its chapter in Bali, as the hyped destination appears to have changed management with the iconic location adopting a new name, Savaya Bali. On Dec. 1, Savaya Bali began posting on social media and announcing its opening for Dec. 26 in an event titled “First Dance of Savaya.” Its subsequent posts soon made it pretty clear that it is occupying the Uluwatu location of what’s formerly known as OMNIA Bali, as also acknowledged in an automated message to the number listed for reservations at Savaya Bali.
How You Can Help
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis, dozens of individuals and organizations have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to the innumerable families who have suddenly found themselves without any source of income. We've been making an effort to document and raise awareness of these efforts. We will add information on projects in this space as we are able to confirm them. If you'd like to see a list of the efforts that we've featured so far and contribute to them with either time or money, visit our complete list here. You can also see a list of projects that have registered themselves at BaliSolidarity.org. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Migration Media, the hub for stories from and about the international migrant experience.
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