Friday, February 26
Island govt & Imigrasi agree to US$100 fines & deportation for breaking health protocols + Drive Thru vaccination sites planned for tourists + Govt spells out tourism reopening requirements + more!
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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: Bali's 7-day average of new cases (285) has been holding fairly steady for the last ten days. So, consistency. Fatalities also held steady yesterday (7), but crossed the 900 mark. It took 171 days for Bali to reach 100 deaths (March 21-May 26); this last 100 took only 13 (February 13-25).
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Foreigners in Bali Who Violate Health Protocols and Harass Officers, Get Ready to be Expelled to their Home Country!" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian): Deportation steps can be done immediately and only needs support in the form of a written letter from the Bali Provincial Government. The Deputy Governor said that foreigners who violate the health program will be given warning 1, warning 2 and a last resort, the Bali Provincial Government will not hesitate to deport. In addition, if there are foreigners who fight and harass police officers, TNI, Satpol PP, then they are also prepared to leave the Island of the Gods. Deputy for Tourism Coordination and Creative Economy Odo. RM Manuhutu, said, "Fines of Rp. 100,000 have not deterred foreigners and there are suggestions for Indonesian citizens to be fined Rp. 100,000 and for foreigners a fine of Rp. 500,000 to 1 million rupiah so that the foreigners' fines are greater and can cause a deterrent effect."
"To Open International Border, Bali Must Have a "Free Covid Corridor" Program" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Efforts to open foreign borders for foreign tourists have several provisions that must be obeyed, one of which is if the government already has a Free Covid Corridor program. This was conveyed by the Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati (Cok Ace). There are several requirements that must be met by destination countries, in this case especially Bali. "First, we have to reach 75% of the population, especially tourism actors, to be vaccinated," he said. In addition, another requirement was a health facility that was similar to the country of origin, namely China. "We also have to prepare this, at least our facilities must be the same. So there is a belief that the country allows its citizens to travel to Bali," he explained.
"Menparekraf Sandiaga Uno Reviewing the Location of the Drive Thru Vaccine in Bali, Here's His Hope" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian): It is planned that the drive thru vaccine will be intended for tourists visiting Bali. "So later tourists can come to Bali and can be directed to do vaccinations or what is called vaccine based tourism ( vaccine-based tourism )," added Minister Sandiaga Uno. Given that the vaccine recipient procedure requires 30 minutes of observation to see the clinical symptoms that appear after vaccine administration. the areas in Bali that had been directed to get vaccinations were Nusa Dua, Ubud, Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Penida. This area was chosen because of the level of mobility and intensity of tourist visits and its high creative economy activities. The Menparekraf hopes that the area will later become a green zone or free covid zone.
Context: Other media reports indicate that the timeline for opening this first “Drive Thru” vaccination site is by the end of March.
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Other Headlines
"Bali to Observe Zero Shadow Day on Feb. 26 and 27" from Coconuts: You might want to set a reminder for this upcoming astronomical event, folks, as the sun will be exactly overhead in Bali tomorrow and the day after that no shadow will be cast at noon. “The culmination happens when the sun is right above us, and it happens twice a year, in February and September in Bali,” Dwi Hartanto, an official from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said. This zero shadow day can be observed in Denpasar, Gianyar, Tabanan, Klungkung and Bali tomorrow, whereas Karangasem, Jembrana, and Singaraja will get their turn on Saturday, Dwi said.
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
Island: "To Bali Without Rapid Antigen Test, Two Lombok Residents Are Told to Turn Back" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "PPKM Activities, Badung Police Routine Prokes Patrol in Badung Regency" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "PPKM Continues, Buleleng Task Force: Consumers Cannot Eat Past 21.00 WIB" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Warung Operation Hours Loosened" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Vaccination Update
"Nearly All Indonesian Medical Workers Have Received First Dose of Covid-19 Vaccine" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia has vaccinated 1.46 million medical workers since the campaign began on Jan. 13, representing 99.53% of all registered workers in the sector, Health Ministry data showed on Thursday. Of that figure, 853,745 workers or 58.13% have received double doses of the vaccine produced jointly by state-run pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and China’s Sinovac Biotech. The government launched the second round of mass vaccination last week targeting elderly citizens and workers in other public sectors such as hospitality, transportation and education. Athletes and members of the media are also included in the second round, which seeks to vaccinate 38.5 million people until the end of May, before other priority groups get the jabs of the vaccine.
More...
Nation: "Indonesia Starts Vaccinating Seniors, but Many Confused by Online Registration, Long Queues" from The Jakarta Post (Paywall)
Island: "Bali Provincial Government Opens Covid-19 Vaccination Registration for Tourism Workers" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian)
Island: "Expectations for Covid-19 Vaccination Since January Are Fulfilled, Menparekraf Optimistic Tourism in Bali Will Soon Rise" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Denpasar City Government Targets 52,144 Elderly to Get Covid-19 Vaccine" from Bali Puspa news (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Hundreds of Elderly Enthusiastically Line Up for Covid-19 Vaccinations at Bali Mandara Hospital" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
"Bali Health Office Gives Green Light Badung to Open Tourism with Genose" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The move by the Badung regency government to install a Covid test kit called Genose in public places has been well received by the Bali Provincial Health Office. Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office, Dr. Ketut Suarjaya, said that his party gave full support to the Badung government to take this step. "Of course we provide recommendations in accordance with the recommendations given by BNPB and the Ministry of Health," said Dr. Suarjaya on Thursday (25/2). The Badung regency government itself plans to place the test kits in public places and tourist objects in Badung.
"Development of the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub, Here's the Development" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Persero) or Pelindo III is targeting the seven Bali Maritime Tourism Hub development packages to be completed by the end of 2021, so this year there will be 10 stages of work completed. VP Corporate Communications of Pelindo III R. Suryo Khasabu said that currently his party is working on the third stage of the development of the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub (BMTH), namely the construction of basic infrastructure and public facilities to support tourism which include UMKM plazas, food courts, land transportation support stops, and several facilities. other supporters As for the first and second stages that have been completed, namely stage one dredging for the shipping channel to Benoa Harbor and the deepening of the port pool in the area near the pier. Then, the construction of the port gate and expansion of the international passenger terminal have also been completed.
"The Inauguration of 6 Regional Heads in Bali Held [Today]" from The Bali Post: The inauguration of regional heads from the 2020 simultaneous regional elections in Bali, namely Bangli, Tabanan, Denpasar, Badung, Karangasem and Jembrana was initially supposed to be held on February 17. However, the inauguration was postponed because a Minister of Home Affairs Decree (SK) to inaugurate the elected regional heads could not be issued because not all elected regional heads submitted to the Minister of Home Affairs, on the grounds that the regional heads were in dispute at the Constitutional Court (MK).
Of Interest
"American Woman Found Dead on Bingin Beach Likely Fell Off Cliff: Police" from Coconuts
"Qantas Posts Huge Loss, Says No International Flights Until October" from Agence France-Presse
"Off-Duty Police Officer Kills Three in Jakarta Bar Shooting" from The Jakarta Globe
"Bitcoin Is Not Lawfully Accepted Payment Instrument in Indonesia: BI" from Antara
"2 Viral Teenage Girls Fist Fighting Over Boyfriend, Parents Apologize" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
"Pandemic Effect, 2,398 Gianyar Residents in Arrears to Pay for Electricity" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
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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