Monday, April 13
As villages prepare to isolate returning Balinese, govt floats centralized quarantine plan + Stupid foreigners go viral for being stupid. (Don't be stupid!) + Coconut market collapses... and more!
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Monday, April 13. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
If you've got a tip on a story that should be included, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
Status Update
Country-wide Numbers:
Source:
Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB Indonesia): @BNPB_Indonesia
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
Bali Numbers:
Trends:
Sources:
Infographic comes from Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The geographic breakdown comes from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
Charts have been compiled using their data.
The Big News
"Provincial Government Considering Ceteralized Quarantine Protocol, Will Decide Soon" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Currently, Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) whose rapid test results are negative when run at Ngurah Rai Airport are required to do an independent quarantine in their homes. In this case, they are overseen by the district / city government and the Mutual Assistance Task Force in the Desa Adat. "But it is being considered tha in the future we will quarantine in one place instead of in their home villages," said Bali Governor Wayan Koster... The aim, he said, is that policies and programs are carried out in a directed, focused, effective and targeted manner. "We will make a decision. So thus this quarantine, even though their [rapid test results] are negative, is not in the village but in one place. We are evaluating," he explained.
"Bali Council Agrees to Use Hotels In Bali As Migrant Quarantine Sites" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Bali Provincial Parliament has agreed to a plan that will see hotels in Bali used to quarantine Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) from Bali who currently have the highest rates of positive COVID-19 testing.
"Every Village In Badung Asked to Build Independent Isolation for Migrant Workers" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Badung Regency Secretary Wayan Adi Arnawa held a virtual meeting with all the village officials in Badung to provide direction and understanding in regards to the handling of the expected 12,000 Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) who will return to Bali- specifically that every village should prepare a space for their quarantine... "I hope each village will try to build independent isolation such as quarantine space for 14 days, before returning it to their families in order to cut off the development and spread of Covid-19," he said.
Other Headlines
"Viral: Foreigners Ignore Social Distancing By Partying In Bali, Sparking Outrage Online" from Coconuts: A group of foreigners in Bali evidently ignored stay-at-home advisories and instead gathered for a not-so-low-key house party last night, as videos that appear to have been taken during the event are making the rounds on social media and sparking outrage from local residents... The videos show at least a dozen people gathering at a villa, where at least one bartender kept everyone hydrated with booze, while a DJ was pumping tunes from one corner of the room. Though the location of the party is unconfirmed, some accounts are reporting that it took place in Canggu. Netizens suspect that these people just couldn’t bear to stay at home any longer.
"Ada Corona, BI: The Price of Staples In Bali Is Controlled" from Tagar (Indonesian): The prices of basic necessities in Bali are generally under control, in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bank Indonesia (BI) Bali Representative Trisno Nugroho said that based on their Price Monitoring Survey (SPH), inflation during the first week of April in Bali was 0.15%, implying that April inflation would be in the range of 0.31% - 0.53% (mtm)... "Prices are generally still under control. However, there are a number of horticultural commodities such as garlic, onion, red chili, and cayenne pepper that need attention. So is the price of granulated sugar," Trisno said.
"Ngurah Rai Airport Saw Thousands Of Overseas Arrivals Last Week" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): According to Putu Surya Dharma, Public Relations Officer at Ngurah Rai Special Class 1 Immigration Office, there were 3,443 arrivals from abroad from April 6th to 12th. Of these, only 162 of them were foreigners. The remaining 3,281 people are Indonesian citizens. Among the foreigners, none were tourists. "There is no arrival of foreign tourists. The 162 foreigners are listed as crew," explained Surya.
"Young Coconuts Lose Market" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): With the collapse of Bali's tourism industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its supporting and derivative subsectors are collapsing as well. One of them is the young coconut business, and traders are distraught because of bad sales... "It's been over a month since with no sales," said I Made Sudarta, a young coconut seller from Pulukan Village, Pekutatan District, Jembrana. Sudarta said that since the coronavirus has spread, demand for coconuts has decreased, until finally there is no demand at all. "Hotel restaurants, restaurants are closed," said Sudarta.
"Denpasar City Government Synergizes with Gojek, Invites Community to Use Service" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): In line with the Government's efforts to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Denpasar City Government and Gojek are collaborating to encourage people to shop at public markets using GoShop services... GoShop, which is a Gojek service to buy various needs from any location and is available throughout Indonesia, was communicated at the Badung Market last week and received a good response from the community. several other people's markets have followed similar steps such as in Badung Market, Kumbasari Market, Kreneng Market, Sanglah Market, Pidada Market, Anyarsari Market, Satria Market, Ketadam Market, Abian Timbul Market, Cokroaminotom Market and Gunung Agung Market.
Resources
Important information for foreigners who are staying on the island, such as designated COVID-19 hospitals and emergency contact numbers, can be found by following this link.
The government has cancelled its visa-on-arrival process and rolled out enhanced entry requirements for people traveling to Indonesia; they have also granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are two of the best up-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is the global lobbying body for the aviation industry. Their alerts feed into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable database of flight restrictions around.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each country's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
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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For all stories marked "Indonesian" we have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. When possible, we will provide a short summary in proper English to help get the details of the piece across more efficiently, and we will polish the excerpt to help clarify the details.
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