Monday, August 10
Govt exploring possibility of opening Bali to foreign tourists as rest of country stays closed + Buleleng drafts sanctions for violations of health protocols + Koster promotes Arak again + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook (animation shows changes from 8:00am - 6:00pm)
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*NOTE: Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update.
The Big News
"Government Assessing the Prohibition of Foreigners, May Open Bali to Travel" from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): The government is considering whether to revoke Regulation of the Ministry of Justice No. 11 of 2020 on the prohibition of foreign nationals coming to Indonesia in order to allow for the planned reopening of the island of Bali for international travelers in September. Assistant Deputy for Sustainable Tourism Development at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Kosmas Hareva, said this was being studied and would be coordinated with the Covid-19 response task force. "We always consider it carefully; we see the dynamics. If the Task Force says it is getting better and there is an agreement with several partner countries, then of course it will be adjusted," he said.
"Draft of Buleleng's Sanctions for Health Protocol Violators Completed" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): The initial draft of the Buleleng Regent Regulation regarding increased discipline and law enforcement on the application of health protocols has now been completed. However, the initial draft is still being consulted with the Buleleng District Attorney. "So far, there have been no sanctions [for violations], so there are questions from the public about what penalties might be imposed for violations," explained Dr. Gede Suyasa, M.Pd, Buleleng Regional Secretary... The draft circular comes in response to Presidential Instruction Number 6 of 2020, which states that each regional regulation must have sanctions. Determination of sanctions must also be consulted with the Buleleng District Court. (Ed. Note: Read about President Widodo's order to local governments to draft & institute sanctions for violations of Covid-19 protocols in Friday's newsletter.)
"Gov. Koster Appealing to Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights to Designate Arak as Balinese Traditional Medicine" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): "I am submitting this Balinese Arak to the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights in order to obtain a patent right as Traditional Usada (Traditional Medicine, red) and so that it can be produced to heal or strengthen the immune system of patients affected by Covid, or other viruses," Koster said... "After the enactment of the Bali Governor Regulation No.1 / 2020, arak farmers in Tri Eka Buana Village can be accommodated in the form of a cooperative, and on an average daily income the farmers get a profit of Rp. 420,000 (the per liter price of Bali Arak is Rp. 35,000, and every day they produce 12 liters) or in a month can reap a profit of up to Rp. 12 million," said I Made Agus Gelgel Wirasuta, an academic from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Udayana University.
(Ed. Note: This pledge by the governor comes after national government health authorities clarified last week that hospitals may not use arak as a course of treatment because there have been no clinical studies that examine its efficacy. In fact, according to The Lancet, "so far, no high-quality, rigorously peer-reviewed clinical trials of herbal drugs have been reported in internationally recognized journals." If you are feeling sick, do not self-medicate. Get tested.)
Other Headlines
"Disney Plus Hotstar to Launch in Indonesia in September" from Variety: Disney is to launch the Disney Plus Hotstar version of its subscription video platform in Indonesia from September. “I’m happy to announce that we will also be rolling out Disney Plus Hotstar on September 5 in Indonesia, one of the world’s most populous countries. By year-end, Disney Plus will be available in nine of the top 10 economies in the world,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek... Disney Plus Hotstar was created in March when the new launch Disney Plus service was grafted on to the existing and wildly successful Hotstar platform in India that Disney acquired when it bought 20th Century Fox in 2019.
(Ed. Note: Indonesia will be Disney+'s first market in Southeast Asia, and when it launches it will be the country's most expensive VOD service, priced at US$6.99/Rp.101,857. Netflix costs Rp.49,000/month, while Iflix starts at Rp.39,000/month and Viu is at Rp.15,000 to Rp.30,000/month. You can read the local angle on the impending launch here.)
"Jembrana Covid-19 Site Hacked, Hacker Sends Sentimental Message" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Saturday afternoon the official Covid-19 informational website belonging to the Jembrana government was hacked into. The appearance of the website changes completely to dominating black color with an animated image of a face with the text under it, "Hacked by AR_404." The hacker also wrote the sentence, "Why bring up our past when you won't come back?" How can I express this feeling?" Control of the site was reestablished after several hours and the site returned to normal. [Ed. Note: No word on the motive for this hack, nor any suspects.]
"Third Annual Pelangi Tabanan Kite Festival is Halted Due to Covid-19" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Indonesian Kite Association (Pelangi) of Tabanan Regency's Pelangi Tabanan Kite Festival, which has been held in the Nyanyi Beach and Tanah Lot area has been cancelled due to the conditions brought on by the COid-19 pandemic... "After the experience of organizing the first Pelangi Tabanan Kite Festivals and the response of the crowds, we knew that his year's event had the potential to create a crowd," explained I Made Edi Wirawan, SE, General Chairman of Pelangi Tabanan. He also confirmed that the kite race would not be held virtually and that the festival has been tentatively rescheduled for mid-2021.
"To Reduce Pregnancy Rate, Buleleng Distributes Free Contraceptives" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Buleleng Population Control, Family Planning, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Agency distributed thousands of contraceptives, including condoms. In June, 27 condoms, 1,780 injections, 1,780 family planning implants and 330 IUD drugs were recorded. In July there were 11 condoms, 660 injections, 120 family planning implants, 660 syringes and 210 IUD drugs... The number of pregnancies in Buleleng has not increased amid the Covid-19 pandemic which is still endemic. "We gave contraceptive tools and drugs to the acceptors with the number reaching thousands. One way to suppress pregnancy amidst many residents who work from is staying at home," said Made Arya Sukerta,Head of Buleleng Population Control, Family Planning, Women Empowerment and Child Protection Service.
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 newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
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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