July 19, 2021
Decision on possible Emergency PPKM extension announced soon + Self-funded vaccinations canceled after public outcry + Paramount Pictures to build Southeast Asia's biggest theme park in Bali + 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.
Local Covid Numbers
*Note: On Saturday, with a record one-day total of 1,019 new infections, Bali's total cases passed 60,000, with 61,179. It was also the deadliest day of the pandemic so far, with 23 deaths recorded. On Sunday the daily total dropped slightly to 944, with 6 returned overseas travelers, 185 domestic travelers, and one foreigner among them. The 7-day average is now 837.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"Conflicting Statements Brings Uncertainty Over PPKM Darurat" from The Jakarta Post: The government is still mulling over whether to extend emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat), a senior minister has said, adding further uncertainty over the fate of the policy amid soaring daily COVID-19 infections and deaths across the country. Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan, said he and other ministers were still evaluating the impact of the current emergency restrictions and would soon report to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. “We will inform our evaluations to the President. In two or three days, we will announce our decision [on PPKM Darurat],” Luhut said on Saturday. He said the government recognized that it was “not easy” to make a decision on the PPKM Darurat policy. On one hand, mobility curbs were necessary to limit COVID-19 transmission, but on the other hand, the government was also aware of their impacts on the economy. Luhut’s statement painted a different picture from claims made by Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, who said on Friday that Jokowi had already decided in a Cabinet meeting on the same day to extend PPKM Darurat until the end of this month. The conflicting statements stoked further uncertainty over the emergency restrictions, which so far have failed to lower new infection figures to the government’s target of below 10,000 per day.
Context: Indonesia's doctors are calling for Emergency PPKM in Java and Bali to be extended.
"Govt Drops Self-paid Covid-19 Vaccinations After Public Outcry" from The Jakarta Post: Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung confirmed on Friday that the government had scrapped plans to allow self-funded inoculation under the Gotong Royong scheme, an expansion of the program that had elicited strong criticism from the public and civil society groups. “After taking public feedback and responses into consideration, [President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo] has firmly instructed that the [individually] paid vaccination plan, which was previously set to be distributed through [state-owned pharmaceutical company] PT Kimia Farma, be cancelled,” Pramono said. The controversial program was initially set to start last Monday but was later delayed by Kimia Farma before its ultimate cancellation. The government’s U-turn came after the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned that individually paid vaccination schemes could pose ethical issues and hamper efforts to guarantee equal access to vaccines. “Of course, to have the most possible impact, it's important that every citizen has the equal possibility to get access, and any payment could pose an ethical and access issue – and particularly during a pandemic, when we need the coverage and the vaccines to reach all of the most vulnerable,” said Ann Lindstrand, WHO unit head for essential immunization programs.
"Paramount Pictures to Build Southeast Asia's Largest Theme Park in Bali" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): This development is the result of a collaboration between Paramount Pictures and PT Kios Ria Kreasi. The cooperation agreement was signed in Los Angeles, United States, last Thursday, and was attended by the top leaders of the two companies, and witnessed by leaders of high state institutions, tourism stakeholders, and the Bali provincial government. The tourist attraction is considered very strategic, as it will be located on the Gilimanuk-Mengwi toll road development area which stretches for 95 kilometers. Paramount Pictures is part of Viacom CBS, the owner of the largest TV market share in the United States. It also owns Nickelodeon, and is producer of films such as Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Star Trek, and The Godfather. Its investment shows that Indonesia is very friendly to investors. "I think Bali still has its own magnet and this is a great opportunity related to the revival of the tourism sector. I truly believe that," said tourism observer Taufan Rahmadi. The plan is that the soft launch will be carried out in 2025. The presence of this tourist attraction is predicted to attract 5 million tourists every year.
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Other Headlines
"The Pandemic Has a New Epicenter: Indonesia" from The New York Times: Indonesia has become the new epicenter of the pandemic, surpassing India and Brazil to become the country with the world’s highest count of new infections. The surge is part of a wave across Southeast Asia, where vaccination rates are low but countries had until recently contained the virus relatively well. In Indonesia, cases and deaths have skyrocketed in the past month as the highly contagious Delta variant sweeps through densely populated Java island, as well as Bali. In some regions, the coronavirus has pushed the medical system past its limits, though hospitals are taking emergency steps to expand capacity. On Thursday, Indonesian authorities reported nearly 57,000 new cases, the highest daily total yet — seven times as many as a month earlier. On Friday, they reported a record 1,205 deaths, bringing the country’s official toll from the pandemic to more than 71,000.
Context: On Friday Indonesia recorded 54,000 new infections, followed by 51, 952 on Saturday, and 44,721 on Sunday.
Vaccination Update
Nation: "16.27 Million Indonesians Receive Complete Covid-19 Vaccine" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: "AstraZeneca Sends 14.7 Million Vaccine Doses to Indonesia" from Antara
Nation: "5% of Tourism Actors Inoculated: Tourism Minister" from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"Bali's Hospital Ensures Covid-19 Patients Have Requisite Facilities" from Antara: Director of Bali's biggest hospital, Sanglah Central General Hospital (RSUP Sanglah) in Denpasar, Dr. I Wayan Sudana ensured that beds and oxygen supply are available for COVID-19 patients. "We have 205 beds in ICU and non-ICU rooms for COVID-19 patients. Our oxygen supply is available both in tank and liquid form." The doctor further confirmed that the RSUP Sanglah had 710 beds in total and had set aside 205 beds for COVID-19 patients segregated into ICU and non-ICU rooms. Currently, the hospital's ICU rooms have 123 beds occupied by 94 patients. When converted to the Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR), RSUP Sanglah has 76.4% of the beds occupied. Patients, with mild and moderate symptoms, occupy 61 beds from a total of 82 available beds. When converted to BOR, 74.4% of RSUP Sanglah’s non-ICU beds are occupied. Combined with the figure from ICU rooms, the BOR of RSUP Sanglah reached 75.6%. The doctor confirmed that the hospital had a supply of two oxygen tanks that lasted for two days and would be refilled at least every 48 hours. RSUP Sanglah's daily needs of oxygen stood at 2,000-2,500 cubic meters (m3). Since the average supply doubled to 4,000-5,000 m3, oxygen supply is safe, and its distribution to patients is unhindered.
More...
Nation: "Emergency PPKM Not Yet Optimal, Luhut: I'm Sorry" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Nation: "Week-Long Travel Ban Imposed During Idul Adha as Daily Covid Death Toll Exceeds 1,000" from The Jakarta Globe
Nation: "Indonesia's Oxygen Demand Jumps Fivefold to 2,000 Tons Per Day" from Antara
Nation: "South Korea Donates Oxygen Concentrators, Ventilators to Indonesia" from Antara
Nation: "From Previous Month, Death of Doctors in Indonesia by Mid-July Increased 100%" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: "Delta Variant Enters Bali, Sanglah Hospital Microbiologist Explains Transmission Potential" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Awareness of Obedience to Prokes Increases, But Covid in Badung Soars" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Badung Prepares Centralized Covid-19 Isolation Facility" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Buleleng Task Force Prepares Bali Mandara High School Dormitory as Centralized Isolation Place" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Emergency PPKM, Denpasar Yustisi Team Turns Around 396 Vehicles" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Covid-19 Cases Soar, Denpasar City Government Prepares Two Hotels for Central Isolation" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Over 36,000 People in Bali Fell into Poverty During the Pandemic" from Coconuts Bali: The province’s poverty rate rose to 4.53% in the last year. New figures from March 2021 showed a 0.75 % increase compared to March of last year, when the poverty rate stood at 3.78%, as revealed by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in Bali. This translates to nearly 202,000 people out of Bali’s total population of 4.32 million earning less than IDR 452,221 (US$31.21) per month. BPS Bali Chief Hanif Yahya pointed to several factors that had contributed to the increase, such as inflation, negative growth, as well as higher unemployment rate in Bali, the last of which stood at 5.42% as of February. However, Hanif noted that Bali is still faring better in this regard compared to other regions in Indonesia. “The poverty rate in Bali is still below the national average, which is at 10.14%. The [provincial] increase is still relatively low, and Bali remains the province with the lowest poverty rate as of March 2021,” Hanif said. According to the latest data, Papua is the poorest province in Indonesia, where 26.86% of its population is categorized as poor. West Papua and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) trail closely behind at 21.84% and 20.99%, respectively.
More...
Nation: "Covid Handling, Economic Recovery Budget to Rise to Rp744 Trillion" from Antara
Nation: "Foreign Aid Starts Arriving to Help Indonesia Fight Covid Surge" from Antara
Nation: "Social Ministry Distributes 200 Million Kg of Rice to Needy Families" from Antara
Province: "Slow to Disburse Covid-19 Budget, Bali and Dozens of Provinces Get Strong Warning from Minister of Home Affairs" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: "Non-Cash Transactions in Bali Increased 45% in May 2021" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Badung Distributes Cash Aid for People Affected by Pandemic Starting Monday" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Badung: "Kuta Village Becomes a Digital Village Pilot Project" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Sacrificial Goats in Denpasar Lack Buyers, Used to Sell 150 Heads, Now Just a Dozen" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Tabanan: "Tabanan Residents Install Plastic Bags in Front of Their Houses to Get Basic Essentials" from IDN Times Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
"Bali and Phuket’s Race to Reopen to Tourists – Will it Be a Case of Tortoise Beats Hare?" from South China Morning Post
Tourism Figures
"Anticipatory Measures Prepared to Assist Tourism Industry: Ministry" from Antara
"Compared to Semester I 2020, Occupancy in Nusa Dua Increases Almost 3 Times" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Fury Over Australians' Desire for Bali Holiday Amid Covid Crisis" from Yahoo! News: As Indonesia, the world's fourth largest nation by population, faces a daunting Covid-19 surge that has led to thousands of deaths, Australians longing for a holiday on its popular tourist island of Bali are coming under heavy scrutiny. Sydney-based author Tiffany Tsao, who is of Indonesian descent, took to Twitter this week to hit out at a headline published by The Australian about Indonesia's escalating crisis. "Indonesia's Covid hell as Australians may have to wait years to go back to Bali," the headline read as Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to block international travel to protect the nation from the virus. Tsao described it as the 'worst headline ever" and said it was "insensitive" for Australia to prioritise leisure over the Covid crisis devastating one of its close neighbours. Her tweet, which has since been retweeted more than 1,300 times, prompted similarly strong responses from other users. "Gross. As if our only care in the world was our ability to go get drunk on Bali's beaches while the country goes through a devastating health crisis," one person wrote. "They want to party when people are dying," another said.
"Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Vietnam Evacuating Citizens in Indonesia" from Indonesia Expat: A number of countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Vietnam have started evacuating their citizens as cases of COVID-19 in the country continue to soar. The government of Saudi Arabia has brought home its citizens infected with COVID-19 from Indonesia. The transfer was carried out by the Defence Ministry’s Air Medical Evacuation Department under the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The air medical evacuation plane covered 18 hours of air travel without transit and brought more than twice the usual aircrew to handle the cases. All precautionary measures against coronavirus were taken on the long flight transporting infected people to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, around 90 Taiwanese citizens are preparing to leave Indonesia temporarily. They plan to order a charter plane which is scheduled to transport them out of Indonesia on 28th July 2021.
Context: Amid reports of Japanese nationals leaving Bali on a private flight, the Office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry in Bali has said its records show 4,180 Japanese nationals are currently staying on the island, but that they have not yet received official reports of whether some have left.
"Making Coffins, Giving Shelter: Volunteers Step in as Covid Overwhelms Indonesia" from The Guardian: As the country becomes the epicentre of the pandemic, a growing number of volunteer groups have assembled to fill in gaps in the government response. They offer rooms to people who have no space to isolate, run networks helping to locate oxygen tanks, build coffins and even recover the dead. Every day, before 7am, volunteers gather in front of a house in Yogyakarta. Wearing masks and maintaining distance, they measure and cut panels of wood, smoothing the edges with sandpaper. For the past 11 days, the front yard has been turned into an emergency casket-making workshop. The coffins are painted white, and lined inside with plastic. The volunteers are lecturers, security guards, artists and police officers who set aside their time to help the community, which is being ravaged by Covid. They work until nightfall. Herlambang Yudho Darmo, a photographer and an artist, never thought that, at the age of 57, he would learn how to make coffins. Now he knows by heart the length and the width of the panels, and how many millimetres thick the wood should be to make strong but still affordable caskets.
Of Interest
"Search Continues for 42 West Kalimantan Fishermen After 17 Boats Sink" from Antara
"Officials Slammed for ‘Tone-deaf’ Remarks Amid Covid-19 Crisis" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
"Two Surfers from Bali Head to Olympics" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
"Series of Rituals for Rice Farmers to Give Thanks for Blessings" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
"Mount Agung Guide Hopes Ascent Will Open Soon for Domestic Tourists" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Social Action During Emergency PPKM, Balinese YouTuber Distributes Money on Streets of Denpasar City" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"British Man Dies, IDR8 Billion in Assets Fall into Hands of Indonesian Teen" from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
"Piloted by Foreigner, Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing at Abang Karangasem" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Suffering from Blood Clots and Parkinson's, Australian Dies in Sanur" 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 TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.
About This Newsletter
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