Monday, January 25
Govt extends ban on foreign entry until Feb. 8 + Hospitals told to reserve 40% of beds for Covid patients + Regencies scramble to add hotels, hospital staff as number of patients passes 3,000 + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, January 25. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Friday 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 island community by clicking the button below.
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
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: 292 new cases confirmed is not quite the stratospheric totals we saw during the middle of last week, but it’s still holding at levels unseen before the New Year holiday. With recoveries not keeping pace, the number of patients in care has crossed 3,000. Over the weekend, Indonesia passed its monthly record for new cases and deaths and officials said that they were going todeploy new strategies to fight the rise in new infections, even as the head of the country’s Covid-19 Task Force tested positive for the virus. Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"Indonesia Extends Border Closure Until Feb. 8" from Coconuts: Indonesia is extending its ban on foreign arrivals for at least another two weeks, an official said, alongside extended tighter restrictions in the country’s worst affected regions. “It has been decided that there will be a two-week extension and so it will continue from Jan. 26 to Feb. 8. This also covers the ban on foreign nationals from entering Indonesia,” Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said.
"Hospitals Asked to Convert 40% Capacity for Covid Care" from Antara: The Indonesian Ministry of Health has asked hospitals across Indonesia to convert 40 percent of their health service capacity for COVID-19 treatment. In addition to asking hospitals to convert 40% of inpatient rooms for COVID-19 treatment, the ministry has also asked all hospitals to convert 25% of ICU room capacity to provide ICU services to COVID-19 inpatients. "This request is not only for government-owned hospitals, but also for all hospitals, whether they are regional public hospitals, TNI (military) and Polri (Police) hospitals, BUMN (state-owned) hospitals, or public hospitals," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
Conntext: This request is an increase from the 30% allotment that the Health Ministry made just last week.
HOSPITAL CAPACITY UPDATE: Lots of news over the weekend about hospitals filling up, hotel capacity being added, and healthcare personnel being added all across the island.
"In Addition to Preparing Isolation Rooms, the Bali Provincial Government Also Added Health Workers for the Covid-19 Reference Hospital" from The Bali Tribune (Indoensian)
"Badung Plans to Build Main Puskesmas in South Kuta"from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“24 People isolated in Hotels, 10 Treated in Klungkung Regional Hospital” from The Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Covid Cases Continue to Rise, Tabanan Adds One Hotel for Isolation" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Case Increases, Buleleng Receives Additional 2 Hotels" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
"Covid-19 Patient Nurse Contracts are Extended" Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
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Other Headlines
"Bali Population Reaches 4.32 Million People" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The population of Bali Province as of September 2020 is 4.32 million people. This number is based on the 2020 Population Census (SP) carried out by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). Compared to the previous census in 2010, the population of Bali increased by 426,650 people or an average of 42,066 people per year. Of the 4.32 million people in Bali, 87.73% or around 3.79 million people live according to their KK / KTP. Meanwhile, 12.27% or around 0.53 million other people live not in accordance with their KK / KTP. This number is an indication of the presence of residents who have migrated from their previous residence, because they no longer live at the address listed on their KK / KTP.
Today’s Prokes Patrols
"Ten Days of PPKM in Tabanan, Yustisi Team Find 122 Residents Not Wearing Masks" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The PPKM Yustisi Team has sent 10 teams to the field which were divided into 2 shifts, namely the morning and night shifts. According to existing data, from the start of the PPKM implementation, which was January 11, 2021 to January 22, morning, there were 122 people who were fined (not wearing masks). The Yustisi operation involving the Tabanan Regency Joint Team from the TNI, Polri, Satpol PP, Dishub, BPBD was increasingly carried out after the spread of the Covid-19 virus was still volatile.
Context: In addition this data out of Tabanan, officials in Denpasar said that they conducted patrols in 16 traditional markets there on Sunday, with almost everybody adhering to the protocols, except a few people not wearing their masks properly. Over in Sanur, the head of the village said that their deployment of 2 daily patrols has result in most people and businesses following the protocols. In light of this progress, going forward, police will focus more resources on South, Kuta, Kuta, and North Kuta. Media also covered patrols in Jembrana, where 19 people were cited for violations yesterday.
"Bali Provincial Health Office Will Distribute Sinovac Vaccine [Today] to These 6 Districts" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): After distributing the Covid-19 vaccine to three districts in Bali Province, now the Bali Provincial Health Office will distribute the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to six districts that have not received the Sinovac vaccine. The six districts include Jembrana, Tabanan, Klungkung, Bangli, Karangasem and Buleleng districts. "The distribution for the six regencies will be carried out tomorrow Monday, January 25, 2021. And it will start at 08.00 which will be sent directly from the warehouse for the Covid-19 vaccine located at the Bali Provincial Health Office," said Head of the Bali Province Health Service (Dinkes), Dr. Ketut Suarjay.
"30,000 Foreigners Live in Bali, This January 5 People Were Deported" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): It's not even a month and during the Covid-19 pandemic like this, in Bali, through immigration, 5 foreigners have deported as many as 5 foreigners. "In January 2021, we have deported 5 foreigners. In 2020, there were 157 people," said the Head of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Jamaruli Manihuruk. It said, those who were deported were mostly due to violations or abuse of residence permits. Meanwhile, violations of abuses of residence permits may soften up, because in Bali itself currently there are around 30,000 foreigners.
"BMKG Answered the Mysterious Explosion in Buleleng, Did Things Really Fall from the Sky?" from Suara Bali (Indonesian): The sound of the explosion in Buleleng was felt by residents at around 10:27 WITA. The residents of Buleleng and its surroundings were also wondering what was the cause of the loud banging sound. The BMKG's Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation Coordinator, Daryono, stated that the BMKG's seismic sensor in Singaraja noted that the seismic waves were not tectonic earthquake activity. "We believe that this phenomenon is not tectonic earthquake activity because two other seismic sensors located relatively close by did not record it," Daryono said in his Twitter status on Sunday.
Context: While the best guess of seismologists is that the sound was caused by a meteor exploding as it traveled through Earth's atmosphere the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency said that they were unable to confirm this as they don’t have any meteor tracking equipment in Bali. They do not plan any further investigation, but will send a team to follow-up if any additional evidence is found.
"No Longer White, Kuta Beach Sand Turns Brown" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Kuta Beach is not only familiar with waste problems. The sand condition on Kuta Beach is also a cause for concern. Kuta sand is no longer white like it used to be. The color has turned brown, not as clean as it used to be. At some point, the sand condition of Kuta Beach is also tattered. As seen behind the Art Market, Kuta. Head of the Badung Regency Environmental and Sanitation Service (DLHK), I Wayan Puja, said separating sand from garbage is difficult. Including the manual way it is collected by hand, the trash will still stick. However, according to him, there is not much sand stuck in the trash. “Like it or not, there must be sand stuck in the trash. Anyone going to the beach, when they come home, the sand will definitely stick to their feet,” said Puja.
Context: The Deputy Regent of Badung said over the weekend that the daily torrent of 150-200 tons of garbage washing up on Kuta’s beaches every day is an “emergency,” and that locals need to participate in its cleanup, as the government can not handle it alone.
Of Interest
“Expat Who Plunged Motorbike Into the Sea Being Deported” from The Bali Sun
“Indonesia to Deport Russian Social Media Star Who Held Party” from CNA
"Prokes Offenders in Surabaya Are Threatened With Having Their Population Data Blocked" from Antara (Indonesian)
"Minister of Education and Culture Will Fire Teachers Forcing Non-Muslim Students To Wear Hijab" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
“Animal Rights Supporters Search for Local Man Selling Dog Meat in Bali” from The Bali Sun
"Rabies Vaccination 2021 Target 11 Villages" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
The View from Outside
"COVID-19 Cases Are Soaring in Indonesia. Can a New Health Minister Turn Things Around?" from Science: A new face at the helm of Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has raised scientists’ hopes that the country may take a more scientific approach to its increasingly desperate struggle with COVID-19. In a 22 December 2020 cabinet reshuffle, Indonesian President Joko Widodo named Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who has a degree in nuclear physics, as health minister. Sadikin, who has worked on the pandemic since March 2020 at the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises, “seems to understand the issue very well,” Zubairi Djoerban, head of the Indonesian Medical Association’s COVID-19 task force, wrote on Twitter after meeting Sadikin on 11 January. Indonesia lags in testing and data collection, and faces the gargantuan task of vaccinating its far-flung population of 270 million people. “Hopefully, a science-based approach will illuminate our way,” tweeted Ines Atmosukarto, an Indonesian molecular biologist who directs Lipotek, a biotech startup in Canberra, Australia.
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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