Monday, June 15
Badung extends operating hours for shops to 11:00pm + Foreigners' excursion to Kintamani broken up by police + Local officials defy Regency & provincial govts, allow crowds on Canggu beach + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Monday, June 15. 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. But if you would like to support my work, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
New Infections by Regency
Overall Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 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 Total Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
The 30-day trend charts have been compiled using daily government data.
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.
The Big News
"'New Normal' Begins In Bali With Extension Of Badung Restaurant and Supermarket Hours" from The Bali Sun: In an announcement from the Regional Secretary of Badung, I Wayan Adi Arnawa, Grocery stores, shopping centers and restaurants will now be able to operate from 8:00 a.m. until 11 p.m. Supermarkets and restaurants will be able to operate at 40% capacity and must enforce social distancing measure under the new normal protocols. Sinks, hand soap and sanitizer must be available for both customers and workers at all times. In addition, each business must completely disinfect the store every two days.
"Crowd Gathering At Kintamani Tourist Attractions Disbanded By Police" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Several attractions in Kintamani, Bangli, were visited by tourists on Sunday, including geosite points on the Mount Batur caldera, including a coffee shop with views of Mount Batur. Most of them were ignoring health protocols... Bangli Police, together with the Kintamani Police Traffic Unit, the Sab Sabhara Bangli Police Station and the PJR 2 Ditlantas Bali Police broke up the crowd. They are advised to pay attention to health protocols, such as not gathering, social distancing, and wearing masks. In addition to ignoring health protocols, some of them also do not use helmets when riding a motorcycle so they must be dealt with. "After we appealed to pay attention to health protocols, they slowly dispersed," said Kasat Lantas Bangli Regional Police AKP, I Ketut Sukadana.
"Beach in Canggu Draws Crowd Of Public and Tourists" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Many visitors came to visit the beach in the Canggu area on Sunday, with many not using masks and not following other health protocols. In addition, there restaurants were open as usual to serve tourists who shop. At the front of the beach entrance was not seen ticket attendants on guard... Head of Canggu Village, I Nengah Lana, confirmed that the beaches that began to be visited had not been given permission to open by the Regional Government and that the number of officers on duty at the beach is limited. "The beaches have not yet been opened. However, there are still people who are confused, it may be because it is already saturated at home," he said.
Other Headlines
"Three Construction Shop Employees in Gianyar Confirmed Positive for Covid-19" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Three employees at the Harum Jaya building shop were confirmed positive for Covid-19, where three of these employees were infected with IBAM who was the manager at the building store, which was also previously positive for Covid-19. From the coronologists received, the three mentioned last contact with the IBAM case was June 3. They were rapid tested on June 9, with reactive results. Then the swab test was conducted on June 11 Sanjiwani Regional Hospital, with results confirmed on June 13. All three have been isolated at the Quarantine Site in Pering Village while further contact tracing is conducted to identify anyone who may have been exposed to them.
"Following Appeals from Officials, Toya Devasya Only Reopening Restaurants and Supporting Accommodations" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Toya Devasya has modified its plan to reopening on June 15, with the theme "New Normal, New Happening," according to Toya Devasya Hot Spring Waterpark GM, Dr. I Ketut Mardjana. He said that as GM he would follow the Bangli District Police chief's call to only open restaurants and accommodation... "I say to the Chief of Police, we are ready to carry out the appeal of the Chief of Police to only open restaurants and accommodation along with related facilities. With my statement, Toya Devasya has not yet opened the adventure, spa and water sports business lines," he said. Meanwhile, the Spa, Adventure and Water Sport business sectors will remain closed until further notice.
"Indonesia [Looks] to Open International Tourism to 4 Countries" from Tempo: "We're setting tourism corridors for four countries; they're China, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. This was touched in a closed meeting on May 28," said Deputy of Tourism Coordination and Creative Economy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Odo RM Manuhutu. The foreign affairs ministry is discussing the criteria for the reopening of the tourism corridor which will be followed up with the discussions with several countries. A negotiation process will be done to agree on the criteria set by Indonesia based on the criteria set by those countries. "The tourism corridor will be opened two to four weeks after we agree on a deal. In fact, many demands the reopening of certain routes,” he said.
"Fears Over Virus Cast Shadow On Plan to Restart Tourism" from The Jakarta Post: The head of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Association (Asita) in Bali, I Ketut Ardana, said on June 2 that the tourist industry on the resort island was still vigilant, since local transmission of the coronavirus was still happening. The government should carefully decide on whether or not to reopen tourist destinations... "If we take the wrong step, the impact can be severe for Bali," he said. "That is why we must be really careful [in making the decision] and wait until the situation has improved."
The View from Outside
"Expats Flee Bali As Virus Crashes Asia's Top Luxury Villa Market" from Nikkei Asian Review: Over three-quarters of Bali's 100,000-strong expat population have fled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated the Indonesian resort island's tourism industry... The roughly 4,000 luxury villas on the island -- more than any other Asia-Pacific location, according to a 2019 report by villa-finder.com -- fetched an average of $220 per night before the onset of the pandemic. But double-digit rental yields and astronomical capital gains may be a thing of the past.
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 granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
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.
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.
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