January 3, 2022
Two East Java Omicron cases holidayed in Bali + Govt increases quarantine for Indonesians to 14-days from yet to be specified countries + Indonesia confirms 68 more Omicron cases + more
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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
Local Figures
Note: The running average of new cases is now at the lowest level we have seen it since early April 2020.
The Big News
“East Java Omicron Patients Visited Bali, Health Office Tracks Close Contacts” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Bali Provincial Government made efforts to trace close contacts, to respond to the findings of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 patient from East Java. The first Omicron patient in East Java, who is a resident of Surabaya, was found to be infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 after returning from vacation from Bali. The head of the Bali Provincial Health Office, Ketut Suarjaya, admitted that he had sent a team to the location where the patient was staying while in Bali. "Tracing has been carried out on close contacts at the accommodation and tomorrow will be followed by a PCR swab," said Suarjaya on Sunday. The Surabaya resident came to Bali by land and visited a number of places between December 20 and 25 and spent the night in the Nusa Dua area.
Context: Other media put the cases at two from Surabaya (Indonesian) rather than one and that both are asymptomatic and isolated in hospital (Indonesian). In related news, East Java’s Governor has asked people not to panic after the discovery of an Omicron case in the province.
“Govt Increases Countries Subject to 14-day Quarantine, for Indonesian Citizens Only” from Liputan6 (Indonesian): The Covid-19 Handling Task Force has issued a new quarantine policy for Indonesian citizens who have just returned from abroad. In the decree, the entrance to Indonesia for Indonesian citizens traveling abroad is set at Sokarno-Hatta Airport, Juanda and Sam Ratulangi. For those who use sea transportation, the entrance is in Batam, Tanjung Pinang and Nunukan. Meanwhile, through the Cross-Border Post, the entrance is in Aruk, Entikong, and Motaain. Those who travel abroad are required to quarantine. For those who travel abroad from countries that have confirmed community transmission of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 or Omicron, quarantine must be carried out for 14 days. A 14-day quarantine is also carried out for those who have just returned from overseas travel with countries adjacent to Omicron transmission countries and countries with more than 10,000 Omicron cases.
Context: Kompas has the same story, also without an explanation of why only Indonesian citizens are being subjected to the 14-day quarantine (Indonesian), neither story contains an explicit list of the countries considered to be subject to the 14-day rule.
“Indonesia Confirms 68 Additional Omicron Cases” from Antara: Some 68 additional confirmed cases of Omicron were recorded in Indonesia on December 31, 2021, the Health Ministry’s spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said on Saturday. "Thus, the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in Indonesia has reached 136," she said. The spokesperson noted that the 68 new patients comprised international travelers. Out of the total figure, some 11 were Indonesian citizens. "Most of them just arrived from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States," she said. With regard to the patients’ condition, 29 were asymptomatic, 29 exhibited mild symptoms, one showed moderate symptoms, while the condition of the rest was still unclear.
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Other Headlines
“Bali Apartment Construction Rises With Eye to Post-covid Demand” from Nikkei Asia (Metered Paywall): Developers in Bali are building apartments in anticipation of a post-COVID tourism boom projected to send demand for self-contained and long-term accommodations skyrocketing. Construction of villas has already seen a surge, with interest now also turning to apartments. A 2020 joint study by research companies STR and AirDNA of 27 international markets found that while demand for both hotels and short-term rentals was badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, short-term units weathered the storm better because of preferences for larger living spaces and the need for social distancing. "In the post-pandemic world, hotel rooms will be a commodity no one will want," says Richard Menser of PBM Architects in Bali, which has designed dozens of resorts in Southeast Asia.
Vaccination Update
“No Vaccine-related Fatality in Indonesia So Far” from Antara: The National Commission for KIPI has said there has been no death caused by COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia so far. "As of November 30, as many as 363 serious AEFIs have been reported in all provinces in Indonesia. However, there have been no deaths," Komnas KIPI Chairman Prof Hindra Irawan Satari said on Saturday. He issued the statement in response to news that two children had died after receiving COVID-19 vaccine in Jombang and Bone Districts respectively. He said that he had carried out a joint audit with the local offices of Komnas KIPI and the local Health Offices on December 30. After being investigated, the results showed that both deaths were not related to the COVID-19 vaccination.
More...
Nation: “114 Million Indonesians Fully Vaccinated Against Covid-19” from Antara
Nation: “Almost 1 Million Pfizer Doses Arrive From Italy” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“BPJS Kesehatan Verifies 2.3 Million Covid Treatment Claims in 2021” from Antara: State-owned Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) has said that it has verified 2.3 million claims pertaining to the treatment of COVID-19 patients from 2,100 hospitals, as of December 23, 2021. "BPJS Kesehatan supported the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by recording, verifying billing, and reporting COVID-19 treatment claims for all Indonesian people," the agency’s president director, Ali Ghufron Mukti, said on Thursday. The claims will be paid by the Health Ministry to health facilities, he added. "We are always ready to support all government attempts in handling COVID-19," he said.
More...
Nation: “Jakarta's Wisma Atlet Treating 729 Coronavirus Patients” from Tempo
Nation: “President Extends COVID-19 Pandemic Disaster Status” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: “Dengue Cases Remain a Threat” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Ten Million Customers' Electricity in Java-Bali Threatened” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): The electricity supply to 10 million PLN customers, both the general public and industry in Java, Madura and Bali as well as outside those areas, is under threat. Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ridwan Djamaluddin, said that this was due to the low realization of the domestic market obligation of coal entrepreneurs. He added that the realization caused PLN's power plants to experience a coal supply deficit at the end of last year. According to him, the safe supply of coal at the PLTU PLN is more than 20 days of operation. "If steps are not taken immediately strategically, there will be widespread blackouts," said Ridwan on Saturday. To overcome this problem, the government has decided to prohibit holders of Mining Business Permits or Special Mining Business Permits from exporting coal. The ban will be in effect from January 1 to 31.
More...
Nation: “Estimated Audience Quota for Mandalika MotoGP Is 50,000 People” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Province: “Bali Transportation Agency Plans to Hold Joint Operations for Illegal Online Taxi Operations” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: “Bali to Build Turyapada Tower Technology Park This Year” from Antara
Tabanan: “Tabanan Plan to Buy Garbage Destruction Machine” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“New Year’s Holiday Over, Thousands of Tourists Leave Bali” from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The peak of the 2020 New Year holiday backflow occurred on Sunday. Tens of thousands of tourists were observed leaving Bali after enjoying the New Year celebrations. The domestic tourists were seen crowding the domestic departure terminal of Ngurah Rai Airport. "Departure movements are quite high starting at noon," said Stakeholder Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Ngurah Rai Taufan Yudhistira, on Sunday. From the data, it can be seen that the departing passengers reached 11,271 people on Saturday. This number increased sharply compared to the departure on December 31, with 6,452 passengers. The peak of departure is predicted to occur on Sunday because Monday is a work day and school starts.
More...
Nation: “Sandiaga Uno Allows Public to Travel in Adherence to Health Protocols” from Tempo
Of Interest
“Navy Seizes 32 Sea Turtles Off Bali, Halting Smuggling Operation” from The Star
“Indonesia’s Happiest and Unhappiest Provinces” from Indonesia Expat
“Gov’t Told to Establish Domestic Security Ministry” from Jakarta Globe
“The Pandemic Has Battered the Island — and Fake News Has Gone Into Overdrive” from The Times (Metered Paywall)
“Police Investigate the Abandonment of Dozens of Climbers on Mount Rinjani” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
“Inmates of Bali Prisons and Detention Centers Join the Night of Contemplation of Sins” from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
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How You Can Help Bali
Due to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. If you’d like to support organizations working to help those in need, you can see a list of some here.
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