January 20, 2022
Deputy Governor says Omicron yet to be detected in Bali + Indonesia jails top militant over 2002 Bali bombing + Border control passes to Covid-19 Task Force + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Note: The official nationwide chart from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency had not been released at the time of press.
Local Figures
The Big News
“Omicron Spreads, Deputy Governor Cok Ace: Bali is Still Under Control” from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The Deputy Governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana, believes that the Bali Covid-19 case is still under control. The Omicron case that is spreading in Indonesia has not yet been detected on Bali. "Bali if we look at the figures per day is still sloping. Bali is still under control," he said on Wednesday. According to him, one of the things that made the Covid-19 case in Bali under control was the implementation of strict health protocols. He believes that Omicron, which has begun to spread domestically, has no effect on Bali. "Bali has strict procedures. Hopefully this is a sign that Bali is still under control," said the Deputy Governor of Bali.
Context: Of the 26 labs on Bali, one is being used for Omicron screening. In related news, six immigration officers at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport have tested positive for Covid-19.
“Indonesia Jails Top Militant Over Deadly Nightclub Attacks” from BBC: A court in Indonesia has sentenced a leading member of the Islamist militant group that carried out the 2002 Bali bombings to 15 years in prison. The court in Jakarta found Zulkarnaen, 58, guilty of terrorism. He had been on Indonesia's most-wanted list ever since the bombings and had evaded arrest until December 2020. The blasts at two bars packed with tourists on the holiday island killed 202 people from 21 nations in Indonesia's deadliest militant attack. Zulkarnaen, also known as Aris Sumarsono, was part of the same group, prosecutors told the court. Zulkarnaen, for whose capture the US had offered a $5m bounty, admitted the Bali bombings were carried out by members of his team, but he told the court they had not advised him about the attack in advance. The judges did not agree that this absolved him of guilt.
“Immigration Office Says Border Restriction Depends on Covid-19 Task Force” from Tempo: The directorate general of immigration at the Law And Human Rights Ministry on Wednesday announced that they do not have the authority to restrict or open borders amidst the increasing number of Omicron infection cases. Immigration partnership director Agus Widjaja explained that the authority lies with the Covid-19 Task Force as it directly correlates to public health interests. “Because amidst the pandemic, the task force has the authority related to public health. We cannot decide when to open or restrict it. We can only follow orders from the task force,” said Agus on January 19.
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Other Headlines
“CEO of Dorna Praises Indonesia Ahead of the Mandalika MotoGP” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): CEO of Dorna Sports, Carmelo Ezpeleta, praised MotoGP supporters in Indonesia ahead of the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP which will be held March 18-20. Ezpeleta's statement regarding the long quarantine in the MotoGP host country had gone viral in the last few days, although this was later denied by the Mandalika Grand Prix Association. "Until now there has been no such information [Dorna refuses a long quarantine for MotoGP 2020] to us. We communicate regularly with Dorna and the coordination process is going very well," said MGPA Vice President Cahyadi Wanda.
Context: This follows on from news earlier in the week suggesting the MotoGP may have been cancelled over Indonesia’s approach to quarantine.
Vaccination Update
“Booster Vaccines Can Be Done at Health Centers, These are the Conditions” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Vaccination of dose III in Buleleng can be carried out by the general public starting Thursday in 20 health centers in Buleleng Regency. However, not just anyone can get a booster, there are several conditions that must be met, one of which is over 18 years of age. The Coordinator of Data and Information for the Buleleng Covid-19 Task Force, Ketut Suwarmawan, said on Wednesday "A total of 20 health centers spread across Buleleng Regency, tomorrow are ready to serve people who meet the requirements to receive booster vaccines."
More...
Nation: “Number Of Second Dose Recipients Crosses 121.5 Million” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccine Self-sufficiency Crucial as Measure Against Covid-19 Surge” from Antara
Nation: “Jakarta Prioritized For Administration Of Booster Vaccination” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Gov't Secures 400,000 Molnupiravir Tablets as Omicron Cases Rise” from The Jakarta Globe: The Indonesian government announced on Wednesday that it had secured 400,000 tablets of the Covid-19 antiviral drug Molnupiravir, while also reporting that the country’s total tally of the Omicron variant had jumped to 882 cases. Indonesia is teaming up with Amarox Pharma Global, a subsidiary of India’s generic pharmaceutical firm Hetero, to produce Molnupiravir. “The Health Ministry has secured 400,000 tablets of Molnupiravir that have been prepared by Amarox,” the government's Covid-19 spokeswoman Reisa Broto Asmoro said on Wednesday. According to Reisa, Amarox is expected to kick off the domestic production of Molnupiravir in April or May 2022.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Adds 1,745 Daily Covid-19 Cases” from Antara
Nation: “Regional Police Force Should Expedite Covid-19 Vaccination” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Confirms Recovery Of 276 Omicron Patients” from Antara
Nation: “Gov't Asks Indonesians To Avoid Traveling Abroad Amid Omicron Threat” from Antara
Nation: “New Covid-19 Cases In Mataram Rises” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Province: “Jailbreakers May Have Caused Covid-19 Spike In Bali” from Coconuts Bali
Economy & Infrastructure
“Attorney General Launches Graft Investigation against Garuda” from The Jakarta Globe: Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin announced on Wednesday his office has launched a criminal investigation into alleged corruption in Garuda Indonesia concerning aircraft leases. Burhanuddin said the alleged fraudulent procurement has inflicted a loss of at least IDR 3.6 trillion ($250 million) to the state. “We begin the criminal investigation today. There are a number of lease contracts that will be investigated thoroughly, concerning the lease of ATR, Bombardier, Airbus, and Boeing aircraft," the attorney general said. The initial stage of the investigation will cover the lease of ATR 72-600 and Bombardier planes, according to Febrie Adriansyah, the deputy attorney general for special crimes.
More...
Nation: “Small Businesses Grateful for One-price Cooking Oil Policy” from Antara
Nation: “Finance Minister Warns of Commodity Price Pressure on Foodstuff Prices” from Antara
Nation: “Indonesia Plans 24% Less New Electricity Investment in 2022” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “Indonesia's Non-tax Revenue From Oil, Gas Reached US$7.18 Billion” from Antara
Education
“National Curriculum to Be Reviewed in 2024” from Antara: The national curriculum will be reviewed in 2024, Head of the Educational Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment Agency of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Anindito Aditomo said on Wednesday. According to Aditomo, before the pandemic, schools in Indonesia implemented the 2013 Curriculum, then from 2020 to 2021 amid the pandemic, schools implemented either the 2013 Curriculum or the Emergency Curriculum. During the learning recovery period from 2022 to 2024, all schools will have a choice between the 2013 Curriculum, the Emergency Curriculum, and the Prototype Curriculum, he said.
More...
Nation: “Full Offline Learning Mode to Be Suspended if Covid-19 Clusters Found” from Antara
Nation: “Ministry To Induct Over 293,000 Teachers As Contract Employees” from Antara
Bali Reopening
“World Tourism Won't Return To Pre-pandemic Levels Until 2024 Says UN” from Agence France-Presse
“Indonesia Focuses on Honing Skills of Tourism Professionals” from Antara
Of Interest
“Hundreds Of Museum Artifacts Stolen In Suspected Inside Job” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
“British Foreigner Found Dead Confirmed as Suicide” from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
“Student Accidentally Becomes a Millionaire After Turning Selfies Into NFT as a Joke” from The Independent
“Bali Woman ‘Marries’ Dagger In Place Of Absent Groom” from Coconuts Bali
“13 Endangered Snake-necked Turtles Repatriated Back to Indonesia” from The Straits Times
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