March 30, 2021
Imigrasi opens offshore applications for visit & limited stay visas + New testing option for all domestic travel announced + Health ministry says vaccine supply unaffected by India export ban + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers. And in case you missed it, check out Sunday’s update for a summary of last week’s overall totals, with perspective on how they stack up against previous weeks + detailed breakdowns of the virus’ spread on a Regency-by-Regency level.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION UPDATE: Imigrasi has announced the restarting of offshore applications for Visit Visas (including the B221 Social Visa) and Limited Stay Visas. There is no change to the status of Tourist Visas and Visas on Arrival. These are still not being issued. You can find Imigrasi’s announcement on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.
"Latest Domestic Travel Conditions Starts 1st April" from Indonesia Expat: The government has updated the conditions for domestic travel during the COVID-19 pandemic by air, land, and sea. The use of domestically produced, breath-based COVID-19 early detection tool, GeNose C19, will be expanded to all modes of transportation as an alternative health screening for domestic travellers. Aside from that, the travel provisions are the same as before and still divided into two, namely for the purpose of travel to Bali, Java and other parts of Indonesia. (Click on the headline to see a full list of all travel requirements. - Ed.)
"Fire at Indonesia’s Balongan Oil Refinery Prompts Evacuations" from Bloomberg: Indonesian firecrews worked to extinguish a massive blaze at state-owned PT Pertamina’s Balongan oil refinery [in West Java], with the company aiming to resume processing soon. The fire, which prompted an evacuation of nearby residents and forced the company to halt operations at the refinery, has been localized and may be put out tonight, Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati said at a televised briefing from the location. The cause of the blaze that affected four storage tanks at the complex is still unknown. Nationwide gasoline stockpiles stood at 10.5 million barrels, enough to cover 27-28 days of consumption, Mulyono said. There are 8.8 million barrels of diesel, or 20 days worth of consumption, and 3.2 million barrels of jet fuel stored.
>> Classifieds <<
Community is so important- especially in times like these. If you’re looking to connect with the community of dedicated, engaged people in Bali who’ve stayed during this pandemic, you can reach them with a classified ad in this space. Check out this page to find out how.
Other Headlines
"After the Bombing in Makassar, 15 Angkasa Pura I Airports Have Increased Airport Security" from Tribun Bali(Indonesian): PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) has increased security at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar and all airports under management [including Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport] after the bombing that occurred in front of houses of worship in Makassar. Efforts to improve security at all managed airports include increasing the inspection of vehicles that will enter the airport area by increasing random checks in the parking ticket collection area and involving the assistance of assisted TNI and Polri officers.
Vaccination Update
“Ministry to Obtain Covid-19 Vaccine Supply for April Following Embargo” from Antara (Indonesian): The Health Ministry will secure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines for the vaccination program in April following the AstraZeneca vaccine embargo by India. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin ensured the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia, as the country has four sources of vaccine supply from different producers. "When a problem arises with one supplier, we still have three other producers. I cannot imagine if the world were to only rely on AstraZeneca, then we will surely face a big problem," he emphasized.
More...
Nation: "Bio Farma to Operate New Vaccine Production Facility in April" from Antara
Nation: "Indonesia Among Top 10 Countries in Vaccinating Citizens: Bio Farma" from Antara
Island: "[Status Update] of Mass Vaccination in Bali" from IDN Times (Indonesian)
Island: "The Udayana Military Command is Ready to Back Up Vaccinations" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Island: "Boosting Vaccination in the Green Zones, Bali Health Office Receives [Another] 100,000 Doses of Sinovac Vaccine" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Island: "[To Be] Completed by June 2021, [These] are the Targets and Achievements of Covid-19 Vaccination in Bali Province" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Reviewing Vaccination Implementation in Jimbaran, Regent Giri Prasta Targets Completed Green Zone Phase I Vaccination in April" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Buleleng: “All Tourism Actors in Lovina Are Targeted to Get Vaccinations, This is the Reason” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Tabanan: “There are already 1,059 [Migrant Workers] from the Tabanan Vaccination List” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
Island: "PPKM Micro Effectively [Reduces] Covid-19 Cases" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "Fast Boat Allegedly Violating Health Prokes [is] Viral on [Social Media], the Operator is Called by Satpol Pp Bali" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Police Arrest Bulgarian Foreigner Breaking ATMs in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara" from iNews (Indonesian): A Bulgarian foreign national was arrested by the Bali Police for breaking into ATMs on the Island of the Gods and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). The foreigner has committed skimming crimes and damaged ATM machines at four crime scenes. There are four crime scenes recognized by the suspect, namely in South Kuta, North Kuta, Buleleng and Mataram, NTB.
"Beach Arrangement in Sanur, City Government Submits Budget Rp. 48 Billion" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Denpasar City Government plans to arrange the coastal areas in Sanur to make it look tidier, cleaner and more beautiful, starting from Matahari Terbit Beach to Mertasari Beach. The Denpasar City Government, through the Regional Tourism Office (Diparda) of Denpasar City, has proposed a fund of Rp. 48 billion for the purpose of this arrangement. However, the funds are being requested from the central government. The Rp. 48 billion will be used for paths, street lights, seats, garden lights, hand washing facilities and cleaning equipment such as trash cans and others.
Food Security
"Chili in NTB Getting Spicier Towards Ramadan" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): The price of chili in West Nusa Tenggara is still high ahead of the holy month of Ramadan 2021. The NTB Trade Office noted that the market price of chili is still at Rp120,000. Head of the NTB Trade Office, Fathurrahman, explained that although the price of chilies is still high in the market, the price is slowly starting to fall. Yesterday the price was Rp140,000, now it has dropped to around Rp120,000.
More...
"The Price of Chili in Mataram Reaches Rp. 160,000 Per Kg" from Republika (Indonesian)
"Rice Supply in Badung is Safe, Quarter I Harvest 15,614.40 Tons of Rice" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Of Interest
"Mental Health Diagnoses Surge Since Start Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Bali" from The Bali Sun
"Canadian Ambassador Visits Nusa Penida, Suwirta Wants Sister City" from Radar 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.
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Migration Media, the hub for stories from and about the international migrant experience.
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We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa Indonesia. In most cases I try to polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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