Monday, August 24
Govt office outbreak in Jembrana widens, causes record daily case tally + Guv confirms foreign tourists won't be allowed until 2021 + Klungkung Hospital crisis prompts nurse recruitment drive + 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, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"Sad Record as Jembrana Adds 20 Positive Cases In One Day" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): On Sunday, the regency's Covid-19 task force recorded a record number of additional cases, 20 people, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 103 people. [Driving this growth are new cases being confirmed from] the office cluster in one of the offices of the Jembrana Regency Government, where 7 people have been confirmed as positive, all of whom were colleagues in one room and a team of auditors from working partners outside the agency. The Task Force maintains close contact with these patients... "Seeing the significant increase in confirmed cases in Jembrana and the formation of distribution clusters, I hope that the Jembrana community will be more vigilant and disciplined in implementing health protocols, especially family members and colleagues who have left the area, as a step in minimizing the spread of covid-19," said Jembrana's Covid-19 Task Force Spokesman, Dr. I Gusti Agung Putu Arisantha.
(Ed. Note: The new cases in this story have been recorded by the Regency government but have not yet been tabulated in the Province-wide total noted above or in last night's breakdown, as the timing of reporting varies at the different levels of government. See the Disclaimer section in last night's Covid-19 summary for more details on this.)
"Klungkung Hospital Recruiting 30 Nurses to Handle Covid-19, Paying IDR 3 Million Per Month" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): President Director of Klungkung Hospital, Dr. I Nyoman Kesuma, explained that the recruitment of contract workers to treat Covid-19 patients will be open from Monday to Wednesday. "There are two formations that we open, namely nurses for 30 people. As well as 10 supporting service personnel, such as administrative staff, officers in the morgue and porters," he said. All of the recruited personnel will be contracted with a duration of 6 months.
"Bali Optimizing National Tourists, Foreign Tourists Planned for 2021" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The plan for Bali to open the entrance to foreign tourists in mid-September will be postponed until early 2021. Until the end of 2020, the Provincial Government of Bali will optimize efforts to bring domestic tourists to Bali in order to restore tourism and the economy of Bali. the fundamental thing is that the Indonesian government is still implementing a policy that prohibits its citizens from traveling abroad, at least until the end of 2020... Even though the arrival of domestic tourists has come to Bali, the situation in Indonesia is not yet conducive to allowing foreign tourists to visit Indonesia, including visiting Bali. This is also due to the fact that there has not been a single country in the world that has implemented a policy to allow its citizens to travel outside their country.
>> Classifieds <<
Community is so important- especially in times like these. If you’re looking to connect with the community of dedicated, engaged foreigners 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
"Kodim 1619 / Tabanan Often See People Not Wearing Masks" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): In accordance with Presidential Instruction Number 6 of 2020, Kodim 1619 / Tabanan together with the Resort Police (Polres) and related agencies with district governments (Pemkab) Tabanan as well as elements of the village apparatus, Linmas, including the Traditional Village, Pecalang, are required to discipline the community regarding health protocols. The targeted places are traditional markets, tourist destinations and banjar halls... The TNI-Polri apparatus is always deployed together with related agencies and elements every time they carry out operations. "Hopefully with this massive joint effort that we are doing to discipline the community, it can protect the community from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak," said Dandim 1619 / Tabanan, Lieutenant Colonel Toni Sri Hartanto.
“Tourist Visits to Bali Increase; Wayan Koster: There Are Already Signs of Recovery” from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The governor said that the number of passengers increased by more than two thousand people per day. In fact, in the last four days as many as 5 thousand passengers per day arrived in Bali via Ngurah Rai Airport. This does not include domestic tourists entering Bali via land routes, which have also increased in number. "We are starting to see the stretch in a number of tourist objects. In Kuta it has increased a little, then Tanah Lot, Ubud, Sanur and Kintamani have also started to increase," he said.
"Health Protocols Take Centerstage in Preparation to Welcome Tourists" from Antara: Even as the nation adapts to new habits amid the ongoing pandemic, the government is endeavoring to revive the tourism sector, while putting measures in place to ensure tourists and other stakeholders consistently practice health protocols. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has implemented technical guidelines and strict health protocols at tourism destinations to ensure safety of travelers... A spokesperson further said the government is currently focusing on attracting domestic travelers rather than foreign tourists owing to the fact that COVID-19 is still prevalent across the globe. Of the total US$18 billion earned in foreign exchange by the tourism sector prior to the pandemic, Bali accounted for about US$10 billion, according to Suharso Monoarfa, National Development Planning Minister.
"Bali Police Forms Team to Investigate Cases of Vandalized Billboards" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Director of Criminal Investigation of the Bali Police, Kombespol, Dodi Rahmawan, explained, Friday (21/8), the team to be formed was tasked with conducting investigations related to rampant vandalism of billboards calling for the Covid-19 health protocol. "Removing and burning billboards is a criminal act, it cannot be done," he explained.
"AP I: The Solo-Bali Route Will Increase" from Antara (Indonesian): The Solo-Bali route will increase following the plan of Air Asia airline to open the service. "Now for the route to Denpasar there is only Lion, it is possible that September Air Asia for the Solo-Denpasar route will start again," said General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I at Adi Soemarmo Yani Airport [Surakarta city], Ajat Hermawan. "In the future, the route will be served every day or not, we don't know yet. There has been no official communication with the 'Branch Manager,'" he said.
"Come and Work from Bali Amid Lingering COVID-19 Pandemic" from Antara: Given the penchant of foreigners to work from tranquil, green, and mystical rural regions of Bali, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has highlighted that the government was currently formulating regulations to enable foreigners to work from Bali while vacationing. "Those foreigners, with expertise in technology, IT, can work from Bali. We are mulling over that aspect, and we encourage it. We just have to chalk out the rules now," Pandjaitan noted recently... The government is currently channeling its attention on ramping up the number of domestic tourist visits to encourage revival of the country’s tourism sector. The government has outlined a target to increase the number of domestic tourists by 70%, from the current 50%, the minister noted.
"'All 20 People Tested Positive': Journalist Shares her Family's Struggles with COVID-19" from The Jakarta Post: Hana Puspita never thought that she would become a COVID-19 patient, until she and 20 of her relatives tested positive for the viral disease in July. The Jakarta-based journalist detailed her experience with COVID-19 on her Instagram account @puspitahana on Wednesday, allowing The Jakarta Post to quote her post for this article.
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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