Monday, August 3
Minister warns that Bali could shut down again if infections rise + Sanur Beach flooded with unmasked crowds on holiday + Gianyar blackout caused by kites + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, August 2. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Saturday morning, along with each evening’s Covid-19 update. If you are already a subscriber, thank you! Please be sure to share it with others in the foreigner community on the island by clicking the button below.
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Weather & Water
Today’s Forecast for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Covid Numbers
*NOTE: Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers from our evening update.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION ALERT: On Friday, the Directorate of Immigration published their new policies concerning Visas on Arrival, Emergency Extensions, and Online Renewals on their social media accounts. The biggest news is that they’ve extended the deadline for getting new visas until August 20. Check Friday’s newsletter for a breakdown of what they laid out, or read the full post for yourself on the Directorate’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Per the announcement, the new online application system is supposed to be up and running today, but as of press time (~07:00 local time) it was still not active: https://www.visa-online.imigrasi.go.id
"Coordinating Minister Luhut: If Bali Re-enters Red Zone, It Is Not Impossible Bali Is Closed Again" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said that after almost 6 months of no tourists to Bali or, according to a Bank Indonesia report, an almost 97% contraction of tourism foreign exchange, Covid-19 has been a heavy blow for the Indonesian economy and the Balinese economy itself. In light of very comprehensive steps in handling Covid-19, and as almost all sectors are handled well, a number of areas are already green zones, there are still yellow ones but, not red ones... "But if there is a [new] red zone, it is not impossible that Bali will be closed down. So, because of that our cooperation is all important so no one should feel that we are the most important in this matter. We must work to resolve this issue," said Minister Luhut.
"During Eid al-Adha Holiday, Sanur Beach is Packed with Crowds of Visitors Without Masks" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Sanur Beach in Denpasar is one of the Eid al-Adha holiday locations. Unfortunately, there are still many visitors who ignore health protocols such as wearing masks and keeping a distance... Since Saturday, Sanur Beach began to be crowded with visitors. Not only local residents, visitors also come from tourists outside the area. The density of visitors makes the crowd on the beach inevitable. Unfortunately, the visitors still seemed to ignore health protocols such as wearing masks and keeping their distance.
"Large Area in Gianyar Goes Dark Thanks to Kites" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Electricity in the Gianyar City area was extinguished on Saturday night. The City of Arts Center went dark, from hospitals to markets, due to kites that were stuck on electric poles on Dharma Giri Bypass Road. The cause of power outages was from a kite caught in an electric pole located east of the gas station near the Captain I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium, Jalan Dharma Giri Gianyar Bypass... "Disturbances in the city last night occurred from 20:02 to 20:13. The action taken by PLN is to reduce kites and normalize the electricity network. So that at 20.13 the electricity was back to normal, so it went out for 11 minutes," PLN Manager of the Customer Service Unit of Gianyar, Billy Ramadhana.
Other Headlines
"Bali Deports Two Yoga Teachers Who Were Working Illegally" from The Bali Sun: 40-year-old Albina Mukhamadullina and Rodion Antonkin both boarded Turkish airlines on Saturday to return them back to Russia. Both tested negative for Covid-19 by rapid test before departing. The Russian couple had been detained on July 24th, after they were caught selling yoga classes to earn income. Under Bali’s strict immigration work rules, foreigners are not allowed work jobs that can take away from Bali locals or earn income while on the island without the proper visa.
"At Least 72 Indonesian Doctors have Died from Covid-19: IDI" from The Jakarta Post: IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said that four doctors had died in the past week alone, the latest of which was Andhika Kesuma Putri, a pulmonologist in Medan, North Sumatra. He said that most of the doctors who died were relatively young, ranging between 28 to 34 years old and that the increasing number of cases and deaths showed that the outbreak in the country had yet to be put under control.
"Open for Two Weeks, Tanah Lot Sees 4,179 Visitors" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Since it was opened two weeks ago after closing on April 20, the total number of visitors to Tanah Lot has reached 4,179 people, even including visits from foreign tourists. Numbers are expected to rise with the opening of Bali for domestic tourist on July 31... Tanah Lot Operations Manager, I Ketut Toya Adnyana, said the possibility of tourists visiting Tanah Lot were those who still lived in Bali during the COVID-19 pandemic. During these two weeks there were 225 visits by foreign tourists.
"Six People in Jembrana Test Positive for HIV Last Month, All of Reproductive Age" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Jembrana is increasingly worrying. In addition to the fact that the people with HIV AIDS are dominated by people of reproductive age, cases of pregnant women infected with the deadly virus are also still found. Since the last six months there have been seven positive pregnant women... Head of Disease Prevention and Control Division of Jembrana Health Office I Gusti Agung Putu Arisantha said, the trend of HIV / AIDS cases in Jembrana has indeed increased every year. Since records began being kept in 2005 there have been 1,102 people infected with the virus, with additional new positive cases every year.
"Russians Lead List of Nationalities of People Deported from Bali" from Antara (Indonesian): Head of Bali Public Relations and Reform Sub-Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, I Putu Surya Dharma, said that the number of Immigration Administrative Measures in the form of deportation of foreign residents was dominated by Russian origin... He explained that based on Immigration data up to June 2020 there were five countries with the highest number of violations, firstly Russia amounting to 10 people, then from Australia seven people, Bulgaria five people, China there were four people, the Philippines 3 people. "The total number is 59 people, from 26 different countries and the types of violations are also different," Surya said.
"Finally! Groundbreaking of Port Development in Nusa Penida Realized" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): After being postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic and budget refocusing, the construction of the port in Nusa Penida has finally begun. The construction of the two ports, part of the 'Golden Triangle Port' plan will be marked by groundbreaking by the Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, on Monday... The two ports that will be built with funds from the center are the Sampalan port in Nusa Gede (Nusa Penida) and the Bias Munjul port in Nusa Ceningan. According to Regent Suwirta, the two ports are planned to be built and completed this year. The budget for the two ports is more than Rp. 190 billion with multiyear systems or fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021.
"Waste Not Want Not – Helping farmers in Badung Regency" from Bali Plus: Many farmers from the Petang sub-district of Badung Regency were encouraged to increase production in July due to the anticipated increase in domestic tourism. Due to the ongoing pandemic, unfortunately the numbers of domestic visitors are much lower than expected. Market demand simply does not match earlier predictions. Many imported goods from outside the region are also available locally, which does not help the plight of the local farmer... All these factors and current conditions have impacted these local farmers greatly. One of the farmers is Pak Nyoman Darmawan who has lost several tons of vegetables during the month of July. Please visit Pasarbali.id – a online portal which connects farmers, ranchers, local fishermen and businesses in Bali to learn more about the situation and connect with local farmers such as Pak Nyoman. We encourage our readers to do their part in helping to kick start this sector of the local economy again.
The View from Outside
"'Bali is Not Only About Tourism': Covid-19 Prompts Rethink for Island's Residents" from The Guardian: I Gede Tinaya, 36, was left 1.5 ha of land in Kintamani, North Bali, by his parents, so when his .15-year tour guide business collapsed due to the pandemic, he moved back to the village and started farming. He now grows red onions and has earned 60m rupiah ($US4,135) after three months... In common with a growing number of Balinese, the pandemic has made him think more about whether he wants to return to working in the tourism industry and its reliance on foreign visitors. Some Balinese think the island would be better off developing other sectors of its economy instead.
"Can Bali Find a Tourism Future in Digital Nomads?" from Travel Weekly Asia: With remote working on the rise in the wake of Covid-19, proponents say the long-staying, wider-spending habits of digital nomads make them a natural target for the Indonesian island... Head of CEO Indonesia’s Bali chapter, Paulus Herry Arianto, is a strong supporter of the provincial government’s Work from Bali plan. He explained that the campaign’s core components should include a digital nomad visa similar to those offered by Thailand, Estonia and Barbados, a special tax rate, and the obligation to share skills through the island’s desa adat (traditional village) system, which is made up of banjar (hamlets). “Each banjar has an extremely good network; they are the centres of information distribution. It is important that the banjar benefit directly from this special tax rate. If the digital workers receive this special visa, one of the requirements should be sharing their entrepreneurial knowledge with the banjar.”
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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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 try to polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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