June 17, 2021
Firefighters struggled for 6 hours to put out Blahbatuh Market fire, constrained by lack of hydrants + Prokes sharpened ahead of reopening + 47 cases of new variants came from overseas + 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: The 67 cases recorded yesterday pushed the 7-day average up to 49. Among the new cases, two were contracted by Indonesians returning from overseas. Recoveries dropped to 24, the lowest in almost a year. There are now 460 active cases. No deaths were recorded.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Struggling 6 Hours to Put Out Blahbatuh Market Fire, Denpasar Firefighters Lacked Hydrants" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): Firefighters of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Denpasar City were constrained by the lack of hydrants and the small amount of water they were able to suck up from the Blahbatuh river, in an effort to extinguish the large fire that hit Blahbatuh Market, Gianyar, on Tuesday evening. This was conveyed by the Commander of the Denpasar BPBD Fire Team, Gung Aji Sujendra. "Yesterday the problem was more with water, there was minimal stock of hydrants in Gianyar, and the water that came out was minimal, so we had to go back and forth several times to the river." In fact, because of the frequent traveling back and forth to access water in the river, the firefighter team almost ran out of fuel and needed to take the time to fill up with fuel at the gas station first. Finally, after 6 hours of struggling, the firefighters from Gianyar, Badung, Bangli, and Klungkung assisted by the water canon unit of the Gianyar Police, extinguished the fire and the cooling process was carried out at around midnight.
Context: As there were already plans to relocate the market in 2022 and build a park in its place, Gianyar regent Made Mahayastra has responded to a journalist's questions about whether there was a conspiracy behind the fire by saying: "There is nothing. People know that we in Gianyar are straight and sincere." Nearby residents' homes were also impacted by the blaze. The Blahbatuh Police Chief has confirmed that there were no casualties and that the total value of losses could not yet be disclosed. The Bali Police Forensic Laboratory team is investigating the cause of the fire. This is a chronology and a video of the fire.
"Ahead of Tourism Opening, Bali Sharpens Prokes Implementation" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Bali Provincial Government together with industry and tourism stakeholders have agreed to sharpen the implementation of health protocols (Prokes) to prevent Covid-19, ahead of the opening of Bali to foreign tourists. One of them is by always coordinating and supervising each other, so that new cases of Covid-19 do not appear after Bali tourism opens. This plan was revealed in a coordination meeting between the Bali Provincial Tourism Office and the relevant Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) together with 34 tourism stakeholders. Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, I Putu Astawa, said, "If it is true that Bali tourism for foreign tourists will be opened later, there should be no new cases of Covid-19 from tourists. Once Bali is opened, it should be continuous. No defects, no opening and closing." Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association member Rai Suryawijaya asked every business unit to have a Gotong Royong Task Force for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Context: Apart from increased coordination and supervision between the provincial government and tourism stakeholders, there was no further clarification in this article about how prokes will be sharpened.
"Indonesia Confirms 47 New Covid-19 Variant Cases Came From Abroad" from Antara: Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination of the Indonesian Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, stated that 47 of the total 145 cases of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants found in Indonesia had come from abroad. "There are 47 imported cases and 98 local cases." Tarmizi remarked that as of June 13, out of a total of 1,989 sequences examined, 145 Variants of Concern (VoC) sequences were detected that were believed to be more virulent and spread more rapidly. A total of 36 cases detected in Indonesia were of B117 (Alpha), five cases of B1351 (Beta), and 104 cases of B1617.2 (Delta). Currently, the cases are spreading in several areas in Indonesia. The highest number of cases were recorded in Brebes, Cilacap, and Kudus, Central Java Province, comprising 75 cases of the Delta variant and one case of the Alpha variant. Apart from Central Java, Tarmizi noted that DKI Jakarta also recorded the maximum number of cases, each with 24 cases of Alfa variant, four cases of Beta, and 20 cases of Delta.
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Other Headlines
"Gianyar Regency Government Prepares Assistance for Traders at Blahbatuh Market" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Regent of Gianyar, Made Maharashtra, said, "The first step we must take is to provide stimulation in the form of assistance to traders who are divided into several clusters." The clusters are shop traders, stallholders, kiosk holders, and courtyard space holders. The amount of financial assistance will ensure they can meet needs for one to two months. In addition to assistance from the Gianyar Regency Government, Mahayastra also said that the Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, expressed his concern about this disaster. “The amount we have designed, for those who have shops are around Rp.3 million per person. For those who lost kiosks, Rp.2 million per person, while traders in the courtyard will receive Rp.750,000 per person. Because those in the courtyard were still able to save some of their belongings," Mahayastra added. The source of the aid funds came from disaster funds and would amount to around Rp.5 billion.
Vaccination Update
"Industry Chamber Mulls Waiting List System for Self-funded Vaccination" from Antara: The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has said it is considering introducing a waiting list mechanism for Gotong Royong vaccinations in view of the limited supply of vaccines in the country. "At the moment we are still in the evaluation process with Bio Farma," said deputy chairperson of Kadin, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani. A waiting list is being considered for companies that are looking to participate in Gotong Royong vaccinations given the high demand and relatively limited supply of vaccines provided by the government. So far, at least 28,000 companies with 10.5 million employees have registered with Kadin for the Gotong Royong vaccination program. However, just 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have been received as part of the first phase of the vaccine allocations, she revealed. "This amount must also be divided again with State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) employees, so private companies can only get 300,000 doses."
More...
Nation: "Govt Assures Free Covid-19 Vaccines for All" from Antara
Buleleng: "Complete Pattern of Covid-19 Vaccination Continues in Seririt District, Targets 49,000 Residents" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Kodam IX/Udayana Reopens General Vaccination Services" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "213,000 Residents of Karangasem Have Been Vaccinated Against Covid-19" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
Badung: "Dozens of Prokes Violators at Taman Ayun Tourism Are Given Reprimand Sanctions" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
Nation: "Pertamina Sees Net Profit Down 58.44% in 2020" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Province: "Hundreds of Cyclists Explore Bali Tours to Boost the Economy" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Bendesa Affirms Not to Exploit the Development of Kedonganan Ecomangrove Voyage" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Udayana University Students Facilitate Marketing of Local Balinese Food Products" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Education
"To Vaccinate Children or Not? Doubts Linger Amid Covid-19 Surge Ahead of School Reopening" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): The plan to reopen schools in July poses a new threat to children’s health amid the current COVID-19 surge across the country. While the government aims to vaccinate all teachers by the end of June, the largely sluggish rollout has only exacerbated the problem surrounding the school reopening plan. Critics have been quick to point out the dangers of reopening schools too soon, particularly as more transmissible COVID-19 variants have been detected in some parts of the country, including Jakarta and Kudus, Central Java. While some parents have become more open to the idea of sending their children back to school, with the caveat that all school employees have been vaccinated and schools have implemented stringent health and safety measures, others are still wondering if and when their children should be vaccinated.
More...
Badung: "Schools Ready to Implement PTM with Strict Procedures" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
"Expert Views on WFB Effectiveness for Bali Tourism" from Republika (Indonesian)
"Open Border Plan, IHGMA Bali Targets 30% Occupancy" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
"Bandung to Ban Visitors From Jakarta Following Spike in Covid-19 Cases" from Coconuts Jakarta: West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil has urged tourists to stay away from the Bandung Raya region, also known as the Bandung Metropolitan Area, as the region elevates its alertness for COVID-19 amid a worrying spike in cases. “We hereby declare that the Bandung Metropolitan Area is under the level one COVID-19 alert because the two biggest areas this week, namely Bandung regency and West Bandung regency, have been marked as red zones,” Ridwan said. The Bandung Metropolitan Area comprises Bandung regency, West Bandung regency, Bandung City, Cimahi City, and Sumedang regency. Overall, the area is currently at 84% hospital bed occupancy rate, which exceeds WHO’s safe standard threshold of 70%. Meanwhile, the bed occupancy rate for West Java province as a whole is 75%. With the elevated alertness status, all the cities and regencies mentioned are obligated to implement the work from home (WFH) policy and suppress arrivals of visitors from outside the region for the next week.
"Tempe Trader Injured While Going to Market, Tried to Fight but Finger Cut by Machete" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): A tempe trader with the initials SP, 37, was desperate to fight off the thugs who tried to block him with a machete. Unfortunately, while trying to fight back, his left fingers were injured by the slash of the perpetrator's machete. Apart from being traumatized, the man from West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) lost Rp. 100,000 and a plastic bag containing tempe which he was going to sell at the market. A few hours later, the Criminal Investigation Team of the Mengwi Police succeeded in arresting the culprit, KA, 38. This perpetrator was arrested by the Tabanan City Police in a 2015 robbery case and sentenced to 1 year in Tabanan Prison. The incident occurred at the Cemagi intersection, precisely in front of the Ananta car wash on Jalan Bypass Munggu Badung, on Tuesday at around 05.00 WITA. "While passing through the crime scene, the victim was intercepted by a robber and threatened with a machete," said Police Chief Nyoman Darsana. "The robbers slashed the victim's fingers with a machete and damaged the motorcycle's rearview mirror and forcibly seized the victim's belongings," said Darsana Police Chief.
"Brong Exhaust Ban Campaign, Badung Traffic Police Collaborates with Schools" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The rise of motorcycle exhausts that have been modified to create noise has become a special area of attention for the ranks of the Badung Police Traffic Unit. Until now the police continue to intensively carry out socialization and campaigns, one of which is collaborating with schools. According to the Head of Traffic at the Badung Police, AKP Aan Saputra, the campaign to disseminate the Brong exhaust ban took place at SMK PGRI 2 Mengwi, Badung. He asked the students to immediately comply and not modify the standard motorcycle into a Brong exhaust. He explained that the socialization of the ban on the Brong exhaust was to change the mindset of the younger generation so as to minimize violations on the highway. "This Brong exhaust is very disturbing and disturbing other motorists. It is hoped that with this campaign discipline on the highway can create Kamseltibcarlantas." AKP Aan reiterated that his party will continue to carry out the stop Brong exhaust campaign in schools, so that students really obey the law and provide comfort to the community.
Context: "Kamseltibcarlantas", a traffic police policy, is a combination of the words “keamanan” (security), “keselamatan” (safety), “ketertiban” (order) and “kelancaran lalu lintas” (smooth traffic conditions).
"Viral on Social Media, Klungkung Satpol PP Check Hill Leveling in Gunaksa Village" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Klungkung Regency Satpol PP moved quickly after viral news on social media related to the leveling of hills in Bumi Serombotan, Gunaksa Village, Dawan, Klungkung. The activity was led directly by the Public Order and Public Order Division of the Klungkung Satpol PP, I Nyoman Kariasa. Kariasa said that during the inspection it was found that there were only two pieces of heavy equipment, and an officer who claimed to be a heavy equipment mechanic. The plan is to level the hill to make a plot of land. "If we proceed, we will chain the heavy equipment," said Kariasa. He said that the Klungkung Satpol PP would continue to investigate this matter as his party did not know who the project owner was. “We are looking for the owner first. We checked here because it was assigned by Kasat. Leveling of this hill has blown up on social media," he said. Meanwhile, the Dawan sub-district head, Dewa Gede Widiantara, admitted that he had received information regarding the leveling of the hill. His party has sent a team to the location, to provide guidance to the workers there. "We don't know who owns it, because from the start there was no coordination with the sub-district head regarding this."
Of Interest
"Police Uncovered 19,229 Drug Cases in 2021" from Antara
"Police Arrest Five Suspected Illegal Logging Conspirators in Buleleng" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Covid Pandemic, Women and Children in Bali Often Become Criminal Targets" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"493 Killed in 1,423 Natural Disaster Events This Year: BNPB" from Antara
"‘Why Not?’: Prabowo Fuels Speculation of Third Presidential Bid" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
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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