Friday, June 12
Reported deaths not showing up in Govt data + Siloam Hospitals offering antibody test + Some Immigration services now available + Police raid Canggu bar b/c crowds defy social distancing rules + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Friday, June 12. Please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. I happily put this daily newsletter together as a public service, and it will be free so long as the current emergency lasts. *A paid subscription is NOT required to access this content.* When signing up, select the "None" option and you'll get it delivered to your Inbox each day. But if you would like to support my work, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
New Infections by Regency
Overall Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 30-Day Trends:
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under in-patient observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the websites of each Regency's Covid-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
Sources:
The national update comes from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency: @BNPB_Indonesia
The Bali Numbers infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The Total Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
The 30-day trend charts have been compiled using daily government data.
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 fund 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.
The Big News
"Positive Cases Surge to 659, Some Deaths Not Included In Govt Data" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The death rate is still recorded at 5 people. However, Director of Wangaya Hospital, Dr. Putu Alit Parwita, confirmed that one of the Covid-19 patients treated by his team had died. "It has been reported. Manually it has also been reported. Maybe now it has been entered (into the data), maybe," said Dr. Alit Parwita... A 47-year-old male patient has also been buried. However, data from the central GTPP team today have or do not mention any additional number of deaths from Covid-19 in Bali.
"Immigration Services for Foreign Nationals At Immigration Offices Are Now Open" from The Ministry of Immigration (Facebook post): Immigration for foreign nationals are: A) Change of status of an immigration stay permit application; B) new temporary stay permit (ITAS) assistance; C) immigration certificate of residency (SKIM) issuance; D) Indonesian dual citizenship and immigration facility application... Your emergency stay permit is still valid until further notice.
"Siloam Hospitals In Indonesia Now Providing Covid-19 Serology [Antibody] Tests" from The Jakarta Post: Hospital operator Siloam Hospitals Group has launched its latest Covid-19 test, the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology test, developed by Swiss multinational healthcare company Roche. The serology test -- now available in all Siloam hospitals in Indonesia -- is designed to determine whether a patient has been exposed to COVID-19 and whether they have developed antibodies against the virus. Each serology test costs Rp 199,000 (US$14) per person... Roche Diagnostics claims the test has 100% sensitivity with no false-negative results. Based on an assessment of 5,272 samples, the serology test has 99.81% specificity with a low chance of false positive. The test has recently won emergency use clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration and has also been approved by Public Health England in the United Kingdom and has been widely used in Singapore.
Ed. Note: Antibody tests are not a panacea, nor are they a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. Yet. Be sure to educate yourself and set proper expectations before taking any kind of medical test. This highly technical - yet very informative - piece in Chemical & Engineering News is a great place to start: "Covid-19 Antibody Tests Are Raising As Many Questions As They Answer" - Here's the most relevant bit:
The tests are nearly all qualitative, Slev says. All they can tell me is whether or not I was previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. My results, if positive, wouldn’t be quantitative—they can’t measure how much antibody is floating in my blood. And none of them answer one of the most critical questions when considering using these tests to guide the reopening of society: Do any of those antibodies keep the virus from infecting me again?
The other thing that the SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests can’t tell us is how long your immunity lasts. For some infectious diseases, antibodies wane over time—this is why some vaccines require booster shots that prompt your body to start producing those antibodies again.
"The narrative for the last three weeks was that the antibody tests are hot garbage. Now the new narrative... is that the antibody tests could be alright. - Alex Greninger, virologist and diagnostician, University of Washington
Other Headlines
"Police Raid Canggu Beachfront Bar Over Crowded Party" from Coconuts: Authorities in Bali have once again raided an entertainment establishment for holding a party in which social distancing protocols were evidently ignored in the name of boozy revelry. Footage from a party at popular beachfront bar Old Man’s in Canggu yesterday are widely circulating online, showing a long queue to enter the venue, the packed scenes inside, and the inevitable moment when police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers raided the establishment and instructed visitors to vacate the premises. Very few partygoers were seen wearing face masks or observing social distancing measures at the venue.
"With Foreign Tourists Flooding Beaches, Badung Regional Police to Give Warnings" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Several beach tourism locations in North Badung Regency began to be visited by several foreign tourists. To maintain the safety and comfort of tourists, the Badung Regional Police will carry out dialogical patrols for the creation of a conducive kamtibmas situation in the jurisdiction of the Badung Police Station.
"After 542 Traders In Gianyar's Samplangan Relocation Market Are Given Rapid Tests, Two People are Reactive" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Chairperson of Gianyar's Coid-19 Task Force, I Made Wisnu Wijaya, said that the two people who were declared reactive in the rapid test would be swabbed, and that they were expected to be self-isolated until the results of the swab test come back. The plan is to continue rapid testing tomorrow (Friday). "We do it in stages according to the ability of officers in the field," he said.
"395 Traders In Denpasar's Kumbasari Market to Be Swab & Rapid Tested, Market Closed Until At Least June 16" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): All traders who sell at the Kumbasari Market night court, Denpasar, will be tested for swabs or rapid tests. This followed 19 traders who tested positive for Covid-19, which came after a single trader was found to be infected last Friday and 30 people who worked close to him were tested. To slow the increasingly widespread distribution of Covid-19, it is planned that all traders will take part in swab and rapid tests.
“Markets Become Covid-19 Distribution Clusters" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Since the Covid-19 case was first announced in Bali in early March 2020, there have been at least five markets where the corona virus has spread in Bali: 1. Bondalem Market, Buleleng; 2. Kumbasari Market, Denpasar; 3. Badung Market, Denpasar; 4. Gunung Agung Market, Denpasar; 5. Pemegan Market, Denpasar.
"AirAsia Indonesia to Recommences Flights On June 19" from Bali Plus: AirAsia Indonesia flights will recommence transporting passengers on June 19. Previously, AirAsia temporarily stopped all flight services on April 1, due to considerations of the risk of the coronavirus (Covid-19) as well as to prevent its spread. In the initial stages, AirAsia Indonesia will only fly the Jakarta-Bali round trip and Jakarta-Medan routes. The company will also limit flights to only four days a week, namely Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
"During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Bali's Garbage Volume Reduced by 40%" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The decrease in the volume of waste in Bali during the corona pandemic was very significant. So far, the biggest contributor to waste comes from markets, schools, public places, as well as waste generated from households. "Religious activities are also reduced, schools, offices, and public places now produce little waste," said I Made Teja, Head of the Bali Provincial Forestry and Environment Office.
The View from Outside
"Indonesia’s New Coronavirus Concern: A Post-Pandemic Baby Boom" from The New York Times: Hasto Wardoyo, an obstetrician and gynecologist who heads the family planning agency, has estimated that there could be 370,000 to 500,000 extra births early next year, in a country that typically sees about 4.8 million a year... That would be a setback for Indonesia’s extensive efforts to promote smaller families, a key aspect of its fight against child malnutrition. President Joko Widodo has made it a national goal to reduce child stunting — impaired development resulting from poor nutrition and other factors — by half within four years.
Non-Covid News of Note
"PLN Ensures No Electricity Rate Increase In June" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Electricity Company Ensures that there will be no increase in electricity tariffs in the calculation of the June 2020 electricity bill. The increase in electricity bills is more due to an increase in electricity usage during the corona virus or Covid-19 pandemic, because the activities of working from the household are carried out at May 2020.
"Squats By the Beach: Influencer Accused Of Insensitivity for Exercising Near Religious Ceremony In Bali" from Coconuts: Bali’s beaches are still officially closed (though there are few exceptions as to who is permitted access, including for fishing and religious ceremonies), as part of the province’s measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus. However, this past week has shown that people are disregarding the restrictions and are flocking to the beach anyway... The clip, which is making its rounds online and has since been reposted by other accounts, triggered criticism from netizens, many of whom are lambasting the squatting woman and her friend for ignoring that a religious ritual was about to take place right next to them.
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.
The British Embassy in Jakarta has recently posted a great summary of the Indonesian government's travel restrictions on their Facebook page. You can read it here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are some 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 Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) database feeds into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable list of flight restrictions around.
Revolver Maps' Travel Restrictions Database - This list pulls directly from IATA's Timatic database and arranges the countries in lists that are easier to navigate and creates share-able links for every country. NOTE: This is a third-party service and they warn that the updates to their system can be delayed by several hours for certain countries.
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.
Common abbreviations to be familiar with:
PMI: Indonesian migrant worker
PSBB: Policy of extreme social distancing. Officially restricts forms of transportation and prohibits certain types of business from operating. Requires any permitted businesses to enforce strict social distancing guidelines.
OTG: Possible cases, with no symptoms.
ODP: Suspected cases, being monitored. People with fever or respiratory symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Tracked and placed under out-patient observation.
PDP: Probable cases, under observation. People with acute respiratory illness with at least one symptom such as cough, sore throat, congestion, light or heavy pneumonia, and travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Usually placed under observation in an isolation ward at a designated hospital pending swab testing results.
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 include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I will polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.