Monday, July 27
Patient recovery rate inches close to 80% + Buleleng deploys market testing plan + Minister Luhut claims Bali will re-open "in next few days" + Anti-mask & testing protest held in Denpasar + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Monday, July 27. Please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. I happily put this daily newsletter together as a public service, and it will be free so long as the current emergency lasts. *A paid subscription is NOT required to access this content.* When signing up, select the "None" option and you'll get it delivered to your Inbox each day. If you would like to support my work, please consider making a voluntary contribution of US$5/month. Supporters receive an early update on the government’s daily infection & recovery numbers each night within an hour or so of their announcement… plus my enduring gratitude!
NEWSLETTER CHANGES ANNOUNCEMENT: Thanks to the hundreds of subscribers and readers who have turned this newsletter from a mental health exercise into a passion project. What began as a way for me to stay on top of the fast-changing Covid-19 situation here in Bali has become a resource that many people – including myself – have come to rely on to stay informed. It’s this reliance that has driven me to consider making changes to the newsletter going forward, helping it evolve into something that is sustainable and even more relevant to people’s lives. To that end, you’ll be seeing some fairly major changes over the coming weeks- the first of which will debut this weekend.
Starting on Saturday, August 1st, the Covid-19 infection numbers will be enhanced with additional context & data visualization and will mostly shift to evening distribution. So you will receive two e-mails per day: The morning “news” edition will still have the top-line figures from the Bali Provincial government and the news summary, while Regency breakdowns and new trend charts will move to the evenings. These evening updates had been reserved for contributing subscribers, but my commitment has always been to make sure that this data remains free to all, so now all subscribers will receive it- usually within an hour of the government making the numbers public. I won’t be sharing this additional daily update on social media, so if you haven’t already, you’ll have to subscribe via the button above if you want to receive it.
The Monday evening Covid-19 updates will include totals from the previous week, plus a week-by-week tracking of the virus’ spread on the island.
I’ll be taking Sunday mornings off. After over 4 months of putting this newsletter together every day, I’m starting to get burned out. I need a breather one morning per week to keep sane. The Monday news update will include any important items that would have been in the Sunday morning edition, and if there is breaking news that can’t wait, I can always include a link in that evening’s Covid-19 update.
I’m adding a Classified section so that people can share messages and information with the wider community. I’ll have more details on this later in the week.
I’ll announce additional changes as the weeks progress. Thanks again to all for reading, especially to the many folks who have sent supportive messages and offered suggestions on how to improve the newsletter, and most especially to the contributing subscribers who’ve shown their appreciation by contributing US$5/month. You’re inspiring me to try to constantly improve!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
Regency Numbers:
*Note: Buleleng’s regency government has adjusted their count from yesterday, resulting in 2 fewer positive results in today’s count.
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
30-Day Trends:
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under in-patient observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the websites of each Regency's Covid-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
Sources:
The national update comes from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency: @BNPB_Indonesia
The Bali Numbers infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
NOTE: While the national government includes daily testing totals in its infographic, Bali’s provincial government does not routinely release this data, so it is not included.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION ALERT: As of press time, the rumored/leaked Circular regarding changes to the extension process & new visa issuance policy for Emergency Stay Permits has still not been published on the Directorate of Immigration’s website, nor on its social media accounts. As such, its contents should not be considered to be final + it is still technically not legal and local officials are not bound by it. (In fact, they are prohibited from following its dictates.) I will continue to monitor the media & official channels for more information and will post news of the final document here once it’s available. In the meantime, you can check for updates during the day by checking imigrasi.go.id or by following Immigration on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
"Covid-19 Update in Bali: Patients Recover Already Reached 78.84%, 620 People Still in Care" from The Bali Tribune(Indonesian): The number of Covid-19 patients who have been declared cured in Bali continues to grow. The Bali Province Covid-19 Task Force recorded that the percentage of patients recovering had reached 78.84% after adding 81 people on Sunday. The Province of Bali again recorded zero additional deaths, so the number of deaths related to Covid-19 remained at 48 lives or 1.52%.
"GTPP Buleleng to Continue Traditional Market Supervision" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Despite the recent absence of market cluster cases, Buleleng's Covid-19 Task Force (GTPP) has prepared a plan to further optimize supervision in traditional markets to prevent market clusters in Buleleng Regency. Secretary of the Buleleng GTPP, Drs. Gede Suyasa, M.Pd, said that while there have not been any Covid-19 transmission clusters centered around markets since the outbreak at Bondalem Traditional Market in Tejakula District, they will continue to work to prevent it from happening again... The plan includes using a sample rapid test scheme in several markets where the visit rate is very high. Apart from the tests conducted, all showed non-reactive results. Not only rapid tests, later health protocols are also strictly implemented in traditional markets. "We have finished the test in several large markets before the guidance of the fifth revised Covid-19 handling. Until now the results are non-reactive," he explained.
"Luhut to Reopen Tourism in Banyuwangi, Bali Next Week" from The Jakarta Post: Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan is set to reopen Banyuwangi in East Java and Bali for tourism in the next few days, as part of the government’s efforts to “gradually” revive the tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic... “On Wednesday, I will coordinate with the Tourism Minister [Wishnutama Kusubandio], to reopen tourism in Banyuwangi. Then, we’ll reopen Bali on the 30th, and subsequently a number of other regions,” Luhut said. (Ed note: While this would align with Governor Koster’s previously announced plan for the re-opening of Bali, it is not clear form the translation whether this declaration refers to domestic tourists coming to the island.)
Other Headlines
"Jerinx Participates In Anti-mask Protest to Reject Corona Testing in Bali" from Detik (Indonesian): Local musician Jerinx SID, along with a number of people who are members of the Healthy Archipelago Society (Manusa) conducted a long march in Renon field, Denpasar, rejecting Corona testing. This action took place without applying health protocols... The masses who participated in the action seemed to ignore the COVID-19 protocol. The mob made a long march from the east parking lot of Renon by unfurling banners. Many people who do not use masks and also do not maintain distance. In a speech delivered, the public demanded a rapid test and swab tests be terminated as administrative requirements.
"1,200 Picnic Tourists Crowd Bedugul Botanical Gardens As 5 Attractions in Bali Open to the Public" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Since it opened on July 20, the Eka Karya Bali Botanic Garden (or Bedugul Botanic Garden), famous for its forest of various types of plants, has been invaded by local tourists. On a normal day, the number of visitors has reached 700 people. During the weekend, through, it hit 1,200 people. Those who visited more family groups and held a picnic... "In the zero (0) phase we impose a limitation of 1,500 visitors at the same time. And since reopening on weekdays, the average number of visitors is around 700 people, and on weekends an average of 1,200 tourists," said Tito Saputra, Operations Manager of the Eka Karya Bali Botanic Garden. He continued, because of the many tourists who visited, he continued to run the health protocol. (Ed. Note: Click through to the story to see the full list of attractions that have opened.)
"Residents and Tourists in Nusa Penida Still Ignore the Health Protocol" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Nusa Penida police chief Commissioner I Gede Sukadana said, his personnel still often found residents and tourists who did not wear masks while in public places. "There was a resident and one foreign tourist who was relaxing on the beach not wearing a mask. So we provide socialization and free masks, "Kompol Sukadana said... He also reminded residents and tourists to comply with health protocols. Namely by adopting a healthy lifestyle, keeping a distance, and using masks when in public places. "We hope that people and tourists can follow the health protocol well," he said.
The View from Outside
"Joko's 'Trumpian' Response to Coronavirus: Cancel Daily Briefings" from The Sydney Morning Herald: The Indonesian government has decided to scrap its daily coronavirus briefings, a move labelled "suspicious" and designed "to hide some bad numbers" by the country's journalists' union. The daily briefings - an event that governments the world over have implemented to inform their citizens about the pandemic - were cancelled this week as part of a shake-up of the government's handling of the crisis... President Joko Widodo announced a new National Economic Recovery and COVID-19 Response team, led by the country's coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto and the Minister for State-owned Enterprises Erick Thohir. Abdul Manan, the head of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, said it wasn't clear why the briefing was scrapped but "in such a difficult time, it is best that the government does not make drastic changes as it could create suspicion that it tries to hide some bad numbers, for instance."
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 fund 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.
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 cancelled the automatic Emergency Stay Permit program that had been extended to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant entry regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here. Scroll down halfway to the heading "Foreign nationals still residing in Indonesia due to suspending departure and ITAS & ITAP holders overseas" to see their list of which visas can still be extended. If you reside in Badung Regency, from the southern end of the island up to North Kuta, you need to make an appointment with the Immigration office in the Airport before you go in. You can make your appointment here. Follow them on social media to receive policy updates as soon as they are released: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Local travel website Traveloka has a helpful page with a summary of what’s needed to travel to and within the country. You can also order a rapid test or swab (PCR) test via their platform: Link
The British Embassy in Jakarta has recently posted a great summary of the Indonesian government's travel restrictions on their Facebook page. You can read it here.
The EU has launched a website to help travelers stay informed about how member states will be accelerating the reopening of their borders. Through the “EU Re-open” website, travelers can enter the name of the country they wish to visit and find out the rules that will apply after each place's coronavirus lockdown. Information on the EU Re-open website and app will continue to be updated in line with the developments of the coronavirus pandemic.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are some 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 Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) database feeds into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable list of flight restrictions around.
Revolver Maps' Travel Restrictions Database - This list pulls directly from IATA's Timatic database and arranges the countries in lists that are easier to navigate and creates share-able links for every country. NOTE: This is a third-party service and they warn that the updates to their system can be delayed by several hours for certain countries.
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.
Our standards
We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
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.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.