June 9, 2021
Foreign tourists entering Bali must be vaccinated, charter flight trials being finalized says tourism minister + 3 stages planned for economic recovery + 17 Indonesian regions now red zones + more
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*Note: Another 36 new cases were recorded yesterday, and 5 deaths, bringing the total recorded fatalities to 1,514. The 5 deaths were recorded in Buleleng (2), Denpasar (2), and Tabanan (1). The 7-day average edged up to 37, while the 7-day average for deaths stands at 11.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Travel Corridor Arrangement Plan in Bali, Trial of Tourists Arriving on Charter Flights" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, said, "Hopefully this TCA will be on time, we will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Ministry of Health, the COVID-19 Task Force, and the Bali Provincial Government." The Minister added, "In the third quarter we can conduct trials with foreign tourists [arriving on] charter flights, which we are continuing to finalize. Of course, with the implementation of health protocols and very strict and disciplined arrival requirements, vaccination is one of the requirements for tourists from foreign countries coming to Bali."
Context: While a member of the Covid-19 task force told government news agency Antara that the government will "regulate" foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, this is the first time we've seen the tourism minister say that vaccination will be an entry requirement for foreign tourists entering Bali.
"Bali's Economic Recovery Planned in Three Phases" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): Indonesian Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki said during the first phase, Bali needs to conduct a large-scale campaign regarding health protocols. “Currently we need to convince tourists that they are safe when visiting Bali, safe because the procedures are implemented properly. The process that we are highlighting is convincing [tourists], because until now no country has been able to guarantee that Covid-19 is gone." Second, he believes there is a need for a change in strategy from Bali being visited by the world, to Bali visiting the world. This means that Balinese products must go international by utilizing the digital market. The third phase is the post-pandemic transformation phase. Teten reminded that the Island of the Gods should not fully rely on economic growth in the tourism sector. The Deputy Governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati or Cok Ace, called the Covid-19 pandemic a momentum that reminded him that tourism is a very fragile and risky sector for various issues, especially security and health. "When other regions have started to grow positively, we in Bali still have to face a protracted economic contraction," said Cok Ace.
"Covid-19 on the Rise in Indonesia as 17 Regions Now Categorized as Red Zones" from Coconuts Jakarta: Indonesia seems to be on the brink of a COVID-19 surge with a substantial increase in daily cases this week and with more regions now given the undesirable “red zone” tag. According to the COVID-19 Task Force, as of Sunday, there are 17 cities/regencies under the category, which signifies high risk of coronavirus transmission. Last week, 13 cities/regencies were marked red zones. Of the 17, 12 are on Sumatra island, including Agam and Solok regencies in West Sumatra, and Siak and Kuantan Singingi regencies in Riau. The remaining red zones consist of two regencies in West Java, two in Central Java, and one in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
Context: All of Bali's eight regencies and Denpasar City are still classed as orange zones as of June 6.
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Other Headlines
"Jokowi Passes Law Blocking Capital Investments for Liquor Industries" from Tempo: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has officially ratified presidential regulation (Perpres) No.49/2021 - which revises a previous Perpres (No.10/2021) that is one of many derivatives from the Job Creation Law (Cipta Kerja) - that states liquor industries are closed-off for capital investments. Article 2 of the latest Perpres specifically states that business entities closed-off from capital investments are liquor industries that contain alcohol; industries of products containing wine; and beverages with malt as an ingredient. The previous presidential regulation permitted capital investments for the three aforementioned business sectors across four Indonesian provinces, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), North Sulawesi, and Papua. However, the regulation came under heavy criticism which mainly came from religious-based mass-organizations such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). The surge of criticism eventually forced President Jokowi to revoke the law in March this year.
Context: Although capital investment in liquor industries has been banned, investment in alcohol trade, such as wholesale of alcoholic beverages, retail trade, and street retail trade, is allowed, with conditions.
Vaccination Update
"Vaccine Hoaxes Contribute to Low Vaccination in Negara District" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The vaccination program in the Negara District, Jembrana Regency is still relatively low. There are several causes. One of them is the problem of being busy due to work. However, there are also allegations of hoaxes about the dangers of vaccination contributing to the low vaccination against Covid-19. The total target of vaccines in the Negara sub-district is 68,912 people, but those who have been vaccinated are still 12,606 people or 18.29%. Village officials were also urged to maximize the Covid-19 vaccination in each village. "When I came to check vaccinations in one of the villages, only a few people came. There were more medical personnel [than residents] at the vaccine site," said Negara Military Commander Captain Inf. Karyanto.
More...
Nation: "Two Doses of Covid-19 Vaccine Administered to 11.3 Million Indonesians" from Antara
Buleleng: "Pursuing 70% Population Target, Buleleng Boosts Covid-19 Vaccination" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Buleleng Regent: Construction of Road Access to Develop North Bali Tourism" from Antara Bali (Indonesian): Buleleng Regent Putu Agus Suardanyana said, "I see from a geographical point of view, Buleleng has a hill border from the east to the west, so tourism is still focused on building access roads. According to the Regent, if tourists want to go to Buleleng, they will pass through a winding road, and have to cross the boundary of these hills which causes a lot of people to get car sick. Moreover, the types of tourists who come to Buleleng are different from those visiting other areas. "Tourists who come to Buleleng have long stays and spend more," he said. With the construction of shortcuts, said the Regent, it can eliminate the hill boundary. However, until now, only four shortcut points have been completed, two in Tabanan and two in Buleleng. "A total of ten points are budgeted. In 2021, two more points will be built in Buleleng."
More...
Buleleng: "After a Slump, Sales of Cut Flowers Now Stable" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Denpasar City Government Plans Sanur Beach Arrangement" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Alfamart Ready to Market Denpasar Local Products" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Lombok: "Mandalika Circuit Construction Reaches 77%" from Republika (Indonesian)
Education
"Indonesian Doctors Association Calls to Postpone Face-to-face Learning Amid Pandemic" from Antara (Indonesian): The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) of Makassar City has pressed to give careful consideration to conducting face-to-face learning in spite of the teachers being vaccinated. Head of Makassar City IDI, Dr Siswanto Wahab Sp. KK, stated that preparations for conducting face-to-face learning should ideally not only rely on the teachers’ vaccination but also on the students’ vaccination. "Who will take responsibility if children get infected with COVID-19 or die from COVID-19? Teachers and students should be vaccinated before face-to-face learning is conducted," he stressed. If vaccination has not been conducted, then IDI Makassar does not approve face-to-face learning, either on a limited or unlimited basis. The doctor affirmed that interactions at school could likely be causal to transmission among students, and the disease could also be spread from school-going children until they returned home. "There are (some students), who take means of public transportation. When they arrive at school, interactions between students are bound to occur that could trigger transmission of the disease if the students have not been vaccinated."
More...
Denpasar: "SMAN 8 Denpasar Ready for PTM, Committee Ensures Prokes" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
"Cases of Violence against Women and Children Rise, Minister of PPPA and Community Institutions Gathers Frontline" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Bintang Puspayoga, met with a number of representatives of community institutions to coordinate the handling of the issue of violence against women and children in Indonesia. “Every morning I get information, there is no day without cases of violence. This is one of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of which are actually done by the closest people," said Minister Bintang. "We must jointly take steps to handle it, but from the upstream we must also do comprehensive prevention of violent issues. The PPPA Ministry cannot do it alone, synergy, collaboration, and discussion are needed to be able to find good practices that can be done. We must join hands to resolve these cases as one of the impacts of the pandemic."
"Bali Musician Jerinx Released From Prison After Serving Controversial Sentence" from Coconuts Bali: Balinese musician Jerinx was released from Kerobokan prison after having served his controversial conviction for hate speech. Jerinx, whose real name is I Gede Ari Astina, was sentenced to 14 months in prison last November for [accusing the Indonesian Doctors Association of being “flunkeys” to the World Health Organization in an Instagram post], but had his sentence reduced to 10 months following an appeal. The 43-year-old had been detained since August. Also popularly known as JRX, the drummer of Superman Is Dead took to Instagram to share his freedom with his one million followers, where he posted a picture with his wife, influencer Nora Alexandra. The musician’s legion of fans has also been celebrating his freedom on social media, trending the hashtags #WelcomeHomeJRXSID and #KamiBersamaJRX (we are with JRX). The couple immediately went for a Balinese cleansing ritual, locally known as melukat, right after she picked him up from prison. The media crowded Kerobokan this morning to report on Jerinx’s release, though he did not provide any statement to the press. Wayan Gendo Suardana, Jerinx’s legal representative, said that the controversial figure will talk to the press at a later time.
"Indonesian Furniture-makers Fear Losing Ground as IKEA Expands" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall): Local furniture makers are worried about rising competition on their home turf, as franchise holder PT Hero Group plans to almost triple the number of IKEA outlets in Indonesia. The Indonesian Furniture and Craft Industry Association (HIMKI) said IKEA’s expansion would eat into the young consumer and families market, a lucrative segment for the country’s furniture sellers. The domestic furniture and homeware market is expected to grow 11.51% annually over the next four years to US$6.98 billion by 2025. IKEA, a Dutch home furnishing brand founded in Sweden, today sells around the globe through franchise agreements. “The addition of IKEA outlets will severely hit Indonesian micro, small and medium [furniture] businesses,” HIMKI secretary-general Heru Prasetyo said.
"Brong Motorcycle Exhausts Banned, Traffic Police Visit Modification Workshop" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Badung Police Traffic Unit has intensified the ban on the use of Brong motorcycle exhausts. One of their actions is to disseminate information to several shops and motorcycle repair shops in Badung Regency. According to the Head of Traffic of the Badung Police, AKP Aan Saputra RA, the socialization of the ban on using the Brong exhaust has often been carried out by members of the Badung Police Polantas. Every day, its members go to motorcycle modification workshops as well as give an appeal not to use the noisy exhaust anymore. Not only workshops, a number of markets, shops and public places were also visited. "We have visited all places to provide socialization about the prohibition of using Brong exhaust. We hope that with this socialization, we can realize Kamseltibcarlantas in 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).
Of Interest
"Indonesia Offers to Host Next South China Sea COC Talk" from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
"Papua-born Actress Yanni Melwani to Replace Celebrity Couple Raffi-Nagita as Icons of National Games in Papua" from Coconuts Jakarta
"20 Major Events Held in Bali Until the End of the Year" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
"Annular Solar Eclipse Coinciding With New Moon on June 10" from Antara
"Ex-Hotel Employee Invites Brother-in-Law to Break into School to Steal Laptop" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
"2024 Presidential Election Coincides with Galungan, Bali KPU Suggests Schedule be Changed" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
"What is Work From Bali? This is the Full Explanation" from Kompas (Indonesian)
"COVID-19 Patient Declared Dead and Buried Suddenly Returns Home" from Suara Bali (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.
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