Friday, March 27
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Friday, March 27. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
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Status Update
The latest official infection numbers for Indonesia:
Sources:
Charts are from Worldometers and are current as of 00:00 GMT today.
Hourly updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
**NOTE: If you are trying to plan travel off of Bali, here are two of the most update-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is he global lobbying body for the aviation industry. heir alert system is hat airlines use to update their reservation systems, so it is the most up-to-date database of flight restrictions around.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each courntry's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
The Big News
"Bali Government Extends Public Stay At Home Advisory Until March 30" from Coconuts: After previously calling on people to continue staying at home on the day after Nyepi earlier this week, the Bali provincial government has extended the appeal until at least March 30, as part of an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
"The Number of Positive Corona Patients Continues to Increase in Bali" from Watra Economi (Indonesian): The Chairman of the Bali Province COVID-19 Task Force said that the number of positive cases of COVID-19 on the Island of the Gods stood at 9 people as of Thursday (26/3)... "Of the 114 samples that have been tested, 84 samples have been released, namely 75 negative people and 9 positive COVID-19 people," Dewa Indra said in Denpasar, Thursday.
"Karaoke, Cinemas, Bars and Discotheques Closed, Mall Opening Hours Restricted" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): In response to the thread posed by COVID-19, entertainment venues such as cinemas, karaoke, bars and discos are asked to close until things get better. Other venues, such as shopping centers / malls, retail malls, modern markets, people's markets / traditional markets, culinary centers, conference halls and hotels must close by 21:00 and must employ social distancing policies. In addition, meetinghouses and hotels are not permitted to accept orders or conduct activities that gather crowds.
Other Headlines
"GOOD NEWS: Bali Receives 4,000 APD Assistance and 10,000 Masks" from BeritaBali.com (Indonesian): 4,000 sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 350 lt (70 gallons) of disinfectants and 200 boxes masks (10,000 pcs) from the Central Government have been delivered to the Provincial Government in Bali and have been distributed to the 11 designated referral hospitals.
"Home Learning Policy Is Extended" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The current policy to close schools and conduct remote learning for students will be extended from March 30 until further notice.
In Badung, Prices Of Basic Necessities Starts to Surge" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The prices of basic necessities in Badung Regency has increased. Some of the prices measured at local markets include onions for 45k/kg, up from 30k/kg; garlic at 50k/kg, up from 45k/kg; cayenne pepper at 75k/kg, up from 40k/kg. Prices for items such as large chili peppers (50k/kg), sugar (17k/kg), and cooking oil (15k/kg) have remained stable... The Head of the Badung Cooperatives, SMEs and Trade Office, I Made Widiana, confirmed that there was a surge in prices of basic necessities. "Yes, there are a number of prices that have risen, but this is due to a delay in supply from Java due to the Nyepi holiday and the existence of this COVID-19," he said.
"Grab Increases Integrated Safety Standards for Food Delivery Services" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): In addition to the "Contactless Delivery" policy that it implimented on March 16, Grab is rolling out a new set of procedures for their delivery drivers & partner merchants, inclduing new food preparation procedures & educational materials for restaurants; a new 'GrabFood Delivery Information Card', which records the date, time, name, and the body temperature of the employees who prepare food, and will be applied to all GrabFood orders; and all employees handling food must wear masks, gloves and headgear.
The View from Outside
"Returning Bali Tourists Pose Grave Threat to Virus Control: Expert" from The Sydney Morning Herald: Australians rushing home from potential coronavirus hot spots, including Indonesia and the Philippines, pose a huge threat to containing the spread of the disease, University of Queensland professor of virology Ian Mackay says... It is estimated there are 7000 Australian travelers in Indonesia, including 4700 in the holiday hot spot of Bali, though this number is a big drop from the usual figure of about 30,000 in Indonesia.About 16,000 Aussies have left Indonesia in the past week and more are expected to leave in the coming days. More than 1 million Australians visit Bali each year and the exodus of Australian travelers, along with tourists from other countries including China, will have a hugely deleterious impact on the tourist destination's economy and people.
"Teeming Streets Turn Into Ghost Towns As Bali Locks Down" from 7News.com: As Indonesia grapples with a rising coronavirus infection rate, the Balinese have heeded desperate calls from officials to stay inside. A series of photographs and videos show empty and silent streets in areas that are normally teeming with locals and tourists.
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.
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