July 9, 2021
Bali records 577 new cases, highest daily increase during pandemic + 39 Emergency PPKM blocking points added across island + 14 foreigners caught violating prokes, 3 threatened with deportation + 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: Bali recorded its highest daily total yesterday with 577 new cases reported, bringing the 7-day average to a new peak of 411. Among yesterday’s total there were 6 returned overseas travelers and 56 domestic travelers. There were 7 fatalities, bringing the official toll to 1612. 4 of the fatalities had a history of domestic travel.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Bali Records 577 New Covid-19 Cases, Highest Daily Increase During Pandemic" from Coconuts Bali: Yesterday Bali recorded the province’s highest daily rise of COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic with 577 cases, as Indonesia reported another record-breaking day in the nation’s daily caseload. Bali’s highest daily rise was recorded back in late January, with 542 cases, and the province has managed to keep the numbers low for months since then, even reporting less than 100 cases daily for about a month. However, the number of cases has steadily risen for almost three weeks now, amid a devastating wave that has swept Indonesia. The province’s record-breaking day occurred as Indonesia today reported its highest daily spike to date, with 38,391 cases.
"39 Emergency PPKM Blocking Points Added in Bali, These are the Locations" from iNews Bali (Indonesian) (Indonesian): The implementation of the Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in Bali is getting tighter. Insulation efforts were increased from 30 to 39 points, starting Thursday. Head of Public Relations of the Denpasar Police, Iptu Ketut Sukadi, explained that all travelers passing through the blockage point were required to show vehicle documents, ID cards and vaccine cards. If not, the vehicle will be reversed. It was also proposed that residents who work in essential and critical sectors be given a work certificate and a job description card arranged by the regional government. In addition, businesses that close at 20.00 WITA are asked to turn off the lights. "Also wifi devices in public facilities must be turned off at 20.00 WITA," said Sukadi. Read on for the 39 blocking posts spread across Bali.
"14 Foreigners in Bali Found Violating Prokes During Emergency PPKM, 3 Threatened With Deportation" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): A total of 14 foreign nationals in Bali have been found violating the health protocol (prokes) during the implementation of the Emergency PPKM. Three of them are now facing deportation. One of them is from the United States, one from Ireland, and one from Russia. "These three foreigners are suspected of violating Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration," said Head of the Bali Legal and Human Rights Regional Office, Jamaruli Manihuruk. He explained that the foreigners were caught in a raid on the enforcement of the health procedure which focused on wearing masks at the Deus Cafe intersection, Canggu, North Kuta, Badung, on Thursday afternoon. Of the 14 foreigners, there were 11 people who were subject to sanctions ranging from verbal warnings, fines of Rp. 1 million, to passport confiscation. "Three people who violated the Immigration Law are still being investigated at the immigration office," said Jamaruli.
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Other Headlines
"Delta Variant Blamed for Dramatic Covid Surge in Indonesia" from The Jakarta Globe: The government confirmed the highly transmissible Delta variant is the main culprit behind the ongoing dramatic spike in newly coronavirus cases and deaths. Indonesia set a new record in the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases with 38,391 new cases on Thursday, taking the country’s total to 2.4 million. In all but one day, daily Covid numbers in Indonesia have been reaching a new high since the beginning of the month. A further 852 deaths were reported on Thursday, the second-highest daily death toll after it passed the 1,000 mark for the first time a day earlier. The virus has killed 63,760 people since the outbreak started in the country. “The Delta has become the dominant variant, accounting for 78.8% [of total newly cases],” Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said in Jakarta. She added other strains that continue to infect people included the Beta variant (10.3%) and the Alpha variant (9.2%). “Delta variant was first detected in April but it's more transmissible and more capable of causing severe symptoms,” she said.
Vaccination Update
"Gotong Royong Vaccinations Can Now be Accessed by Individuals, Including Foreigners" from Indonesia Expat: The Indonesian government determined that the Gotong Royong vaccination can now be accessed by individuals and not just business entities, including foreigners. Vaccinations for foreigners over 18-years-old can be carried out through the vaccination program (VP) or gotong royong vaccination (VGR). The VGR can be done in health facilities that serve the vaccination program. Each district or city is to assign one health facility for the gotong royong vaccination service, which will be a paid, walk-in service. The definition of gotong royong vaccine has changed to implement COVID-19 vaccination to individuals who will pay for the vaccine direct as well as to employees, families, or other individuals whose payment is borne or charged to legal entities or business entities. The difference between the government vaccine is that foreigners only need their passport to follow this program. VGR is implemented in public or private health facilities that meet the requirements. The purchase price of the vaccine is Rp321,660 per dose and the maximum rate for vaccination services is Rp117,910 per dose.
More...
Nation: "Soekarno-Hatta Airport Vaccinations at Terminals 2 and 3 for Passengers" from Indonesia Expat
Badung: "Vaccinations for Bus Passengers at Mengwi Terminal" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Badung: "Hundreds of Kerobokan Prisoners Get Vaccinated" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
"Restaurants in Bali Must Close by 8pm Starting Today, Governor Says" from Coconuts Bali: Bali Governor Wayan Koster has issued a new circular reaffirming that all restaurants in Bali must not serve dine-in customers and that they must close by 8pm. The circular comes after restaurants maintained their normal operating hours and remained open until 10pm. Business owners argued that hours for restaurants were not set under the Bali Governor’s circular regulating the ongoing Emergency Enforcement of Restriction on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM). Indeed, the original Emergency PPKM circular issued by the Bali Provincial Government on July 2 did not include when restaurants and other food establishments are expected to close. It only mandates that restaurants serve takeaway or delivery orders, but not dine-in. “The central government has also asked us to reaffirm in the form of a revision that specifies operating hours more clearly,” I Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, who heads Bali’s COVID-19 Task Force department of law enforcement and discipline, explained.
More...
Province: "Street Lighting in Bali To Go Off at 20.00 WITA as Emergency PPKM Tightened" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Decline in Citizens' Mobility in Bali Not Yet Significant: Luhut" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Bali Governor Asks Traditional Villages to Activate Gotong Royong Task Force Command Post to Prevent Mobility" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Bali Provincial Government Admits Emergency PPKM Has Not Lived Up to Expectations" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Emergency PPKM Without Social Assistance, Mardika: Half-Hearted Policy" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "In Java-Bali, Government Targets 324,000 Covid-19 Tests Per Day" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "PPKM Yustisi Operations in North Kuta, Bali Nets 17 Offenders" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Giving Reasons of Visiting Family, Hundreds of Vehicles Turned Back" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Sanur Crossing Only Serves Residents Going Home" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Entering Denpasar Via Biaung Post, 45 Vehicles Turned Back" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Klungkung: "In One Day, 2,205 Vehicles in Klungkung Forced to Turn Back" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Hotel Occupancy in Bali Returns to Single Digits Due to Emergency PPKM" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): Hotel occupancy rates in Bali reached single digits or only filled 5-7% due to the implementation of emergency PPKM from 3 to 20 July. Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Bali I Gusti Ngurah Agung Rai Suryawijaya, said before the emergency PPKM was implemented, hotel occupancy on the Island of the Gods had reached double digits or 15-17%. However, after the restrictions on the entrance to Bali, hotel occupancy decreased by 5-7%. According to him, due to the low occupancy rate and only one/two rooms occupied, a number of tourism actors prefer to temporarily close their businesses. This also directly affected the 3,500 workers who were furloughed during the emergency PPKM. "Those who are furloughed are categorized as unpaid leave or leave outside of dependents, which is a permit given by the company to its employees not to work temporarily," he added.
More...
Nation: "Indonesian Edtech Startup Gredu Raises $4m Series A to Keep Teachers, Parents and Students Engaged With One Another" from TechCrunch
Klungkung: "Water Corruption Investigation in Nusa Penida Ongoing" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Indonesia's Lead Sinovac Vaccine Scientist Dies of Suspected Covid-19" from The Jakarta Post: The lead scientist on China's Sinovac vaccine trials in Indonesia died of suspected COVID-19 on Wednesday. The death of Novilia Sjafri Bachtiar comes as fatalities from the coronavirus reach record highs in Indonesia, one of the countries where the Sinovac vaccine has been most widely used. A number of local media outlets reported that Novilia had died of the coronavirus after receiving COVID-19 treatment at a hospital in Bandung, West Java. State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir posted a message on Instagram mourning her "huge loss" at BioFarma, which is making the vaccine. He did not give the cause of her death. "She was lead scientist and head of dozens of clinical trials done by BioFarma, including COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in cooperation with Sinovac," he said. "It has been produced and injected into tens of millions of people in Indonesia, as part of our effort to be free from this COVID-19 pandemic."
"Indonesia Loses Prized Upper-Middle Income Status Amid Pandemic" from Bloomberg (Metered Paywall): The World Bank downgraded Indonesia to lower-middle income status as of July 1, with a gross national income per capita of $3,870. The country had graduated to upper-middle income status last year with a GNI per capita of $4,050, its first time in that band since rankings going back to 1988. “The pandemic has created negative economic growth in almost all countries, including Indonesia in 2020. Thus, the decline in Indonesia’s per capita income is an unavoidable consequence,” fiscal policy chief Febrio Kacaribu said. Gross domestic product shrank 2.1% last year as the economy endured its first recession since the Asian Financial Crisis more than 20 years ago. President Joko Widodo has made it one of his goals to break Indonesia out of the so-called “middle-income trap,” largely by developing infrastructure and courting foreign direct investment. Then the pandemic hit, shuttering businesses and leading to pay cuts and job losses. That had dragged as many as 2.75 million more Indonesians below the poverty line as of last September. The country’s efforts to maintain a single-digit poverty rate over the last three years were shattered as the rate rose to 10.19% from 9.22% a year earlier. The number of unemployed increased to 8.75 million as of February, with the pandemic costing 1.6 million people their jobs.
Context: Indonesia can return to its upper middle-income status in one to two years, if annual economic growth reaches 5-6% and population rises 1.2% per year, a member of the presidential special staff for economic affairs has said.
"Does Not Want to Self-isolate, Russian Foreigner Positive for COVID-19 Picked Up by Officers in Bali" from IDN Times Bali (Indonesian): The Badung Regency COVID-19 Task Force finally came to the villa where a foreign citizen (WNA) from Russia, AN, 33, lives. Previously, it was known that the person concerned was positive for COVID-19, but did not want to self-isolate. The officers who came to the location were the Pecalang of the Canggu Traditional Village, the Canggu Village Head, the Badung Regency Satpol PP, Immigration Class I TPI Denpasar, and the Badung Regency Health Office. They arrived at Jalan Pantai Batu Mejan, Banjar Padang Linjong, Canggu Village, North Kuta, on Thursday. The sub-district head of North Kuta, I Putu Eka Permana, confirmed that AN who lives in the area reportedly does not want to self-isolate. In addition, the person concerned is also observed to be doing a lot of activities outside the villa where he lives. "Well there is indeed disappointment from him, the plan is to leave today for his country. But because the results are positive, he has to stay here again," he said.
Of Interest
"Indonesian Millennials Put Homeownership Last on Bucket List" from The Jakarta Post
"Mount Merapi Spews Pyroclastic Avalanches Six Times on Thursday" from Antara
"The Tenth Day, Fishermen Find Items Belonging to KMP Yunicee Victims" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"UFO Visits Bali Since 1973, This is Resident's Testimony" from Berita Bali (Indonesian)
Weekend Reads
"Frontline Women: Unrecognised Leadership in Indonesia’s Covid-19 Response" from New Mandala
"Nothing to Ridicule: CERITRANS Celebrates Trans Women’s Voices" from The Jakarta Post
"Hi, I’m Disaster Bot: an Indonesian Mapping Platform is Turning Social Media Chatter into Life-saving Information During Natural Disasters" from Rest of World
"Bali in Second Lockdown Misery Just as Reopening Was in Sight" from The Straits Times
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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