Monday, April 27
Police in Bangli put up roadblocks for monitoring + Foreigner's help recognized + Internet usage surges 300% + Balinese crew trapped on cruise ship refusing to quarantine in Jakarta + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Monday, April 27. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
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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:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 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.
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the official websites of each Regency's COVID-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
The Big News
"Operation Ketupat Begins, Bangli Regional Police Watch for Errant Travelers" from Antara (Indonesian): Bangli District Police have begun "Operation Ketupat" to supervise residents who regularly exit and reenter Bangali District and who could bring the COVID-19 virus as they move... "Bulkhead Posts" have been created at Bangli border points to prevent people who did not heed the government's advice to carry out homecoming. If there are stubborn and naughty travelers, personnel are alerted on the ground and are ordered to take legal action immediately. "Our step if it occurs like that is to take persuasive and preventive action. If that is not heeded, we take strict action in the form of measurable legal actions," said Head of Bangli District Police Ops, Commissioner Ngakan Putu Anom Semadi.
"Spanish Foreigner Distributes Basic Food to 63 Families" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Ms. Osi, a Spanish citizen who has been living in Banjar Kulibul Kawan for a year, arranged for the delivery of groceries to 63 needy families in the area, according to Wayan Suarjana, Kelian of the Banjar Kulibul Kawan Office... Suarjana said that the distribution of food to residents was carried out as a form of concern for the community in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. "She offered to distribute groceries. So it was done in Banjar Kulibul Kawan. We are helping, but those who buy goods and those who deliver directly are concerned." added Suarjana.
"To Prevent Crimes During COVID-19 Pandemic, Siskamling Must Be Activated Again" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting people's financial well-being. This economic difficulty is feared to have triggered criminal cases such as robberies to thugs. However, a crime like that in the Tabanan Regency has not yet occurred. To prevent an increase in crime, the Head of the Tabanan Resort Police, AKBP Mariochristy Paca Sakti Siregar, invited the Tabanan community to start activating self-help security such as the Environmental Security System (Siskamling) in each of its banjars.
Other Headlines
"Bali PMI Reject Quarantine in Jakarta" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): 190 Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) from Bali on the Carnival Splendor cruise ship have been asked to quarantine in Jakarta for 14 days, but they refused, hoping to be quarantined in Bali instead. According to a spokesman for the Carnival Splendor PMIs, I Nengah Satwika, all of his colleagues from Bali objected to quarantine in Jakarta... Satwika, who has been a sailor for decades, is very hopeful of being able to undergo quarantine in Bali , such as the crew of other cruise ships, both descending through Benoa Harbor and I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. "Basically we want to be treated the same as them. We have been banned from getting off at Benoa, now we are not given quarantine in Bali," Satwika said.
"Mengwi Terminal Close Departure and Ticket Sales Services" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Terminal Mengwi, Mengwi District, Badung ceased its inter-city bus departure services as well as bus ticket sales on Saturday. This follows the new government policies related to the prohibition of traveling to prevent the spread of Covid-19. "Yes, we are also off, not serving departure or ticket sales at the Mengwi Terminal until May 31," said Chief of the Mengwi Terminal Cok Agung Suarmaya... Suarmaya added that the terminal would still be accept arrivals though. "If we receive a bus, we still accept it. We do not close all operations. We do nto control checkpoint posts outside the terminal," he said.
"Internet Usage Increases Three Times" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): During the COVID-19 period, demand for telecommunications services is huge. Telkom has recorded internet usage rates triple of those before COVID-19. Telkom is not surpised by this, as many people are working & learning from home, which requires internet access... However, said Deputy GM Telkom Witel Denpasar I Gusti Gde Donny Wardhana, the increase in internet usage does not exceed Telkom's capacity. "We can handle it; the useage rate is below 60% of the capacity of our equipment," he said.
"With Non-Covid-19 Patients Down 60%, Sanglah Hospital Optimizes Isolation Services" from The Denpasar Post (Indonesian): Managing Director of Sanglah Hospital, Dr. Wayan Sudana, said, "The decline is due to the atmosphere of Covid-19." Utilizing this momentum to decrease non-corona patients, Sanglah Hospital optimizes isolation services for corona-positive patients, currently dominated by 78.15% of Indonesian Migrant Workers. Some treatment rooms have been revamped, made into isolation rooms... On Sunday morning alone, eight more beds were available which were used by positive corona patients. In accordance with the initial plan, Sanglah Hospital is targeting bed optimization for corona patients to reach 71 units.
"Safe Food Stocks During Ramadan Amid COVID-19 Pandemic" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Agriculture guarantees food supplies during Ramadan amid a safe COVID-19 pandemic with sufficient reserves for the next few months... Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo ensured that the balance of food needs was good and well controlled. "From our national food balance, we actually have a good balance sheet that is well controlled, quite available," Mentan Yasin said.
"1,200 Tour Buses In Bali Stop Operating, Entrepreneurs Ask For Incentives' from Liputan 6 (Indonesian): The Chairman of the Bali Tourism Transport Association, Nyoman Sudiarta, demanded a number of incentives from the government for the continuity of the transportation industry which is currently affected by Corona Covid-19... "From February, March, April 100% have not operated in Bali specifically on the tourism bus," he said. The impact includes 2,000 crew members and 300-500 employees whov've been laid off. "Our hope with everything here is given wisdom, the sustainability of this transportation business, relaxation of stimulus to the government. Because we in Denpasar, Bali have not yet received a stimulus," he explained.
"Affected by Covid-19, This Rafting Guide from Rendang Switches to Looking for Conches" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): A rafting guide from Rendang Village, Karangasem is now turning to the profession of looking for a kakul (river snail) to meet the daily needs of his family due to policies laid off by the company. I Wayan Artana Adi Putra was forced to do this since the last two weeks after being laid off from his workplace in the Ubud, Gianyar, Bali area as a result of the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus... "Before I was a rafting guide but the impact of my Covid-19 was laid off, I saw an economic opportunity there because I didn't want to just stand idly by waiting for a helping hand from the government while the family's needs had to remain available," he said.
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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We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
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For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I will polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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