Monday, November 16
Country sets infection records over weekend as Govt mulls adding another long holiday in Dec to spur tourism + Govt finally confirms prison outbreak numbers, says all but 1 have recovered + more!
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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: 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
"5,000 Cases Reported on Two Consecutive Days" from Indonesia Expat: Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, explained that the long holiday of the Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) birthday two weeks ago resulted in delays in reporting test results. The delay in reporting has left a number of cases piling up and being reported in the last two days. “It appeared that the number of cases has decreased, as well as reports on the examination of sample cases. Apparently, there were more than 1,000 of these examinations and they finally entered the records recently. Hence, there was a significant increase in cases in the last two days,” said Wiku. Wiku hopes that the delay in recording cases during the long holiday can be resolved immediately. Additional cases that have not been included in the Task Force data record will be recorded in the next data submission.
"COVID-19 Task Force Mulls Declaring Long Holiday in December" from Antara: “It is very likely we will recommend to the President to declare long holidays in December, provided the public abides by the health protocols,” said Doni Monardo, Chief of the Task Force for COVID-19 Response. The task force will assess the impact of long holidays on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by referring to the impact of long holidays in August and October this year. In the past one to two weeks after the long holidays in October, the number of COVID-19 cases has not been as high as that recorded after the holidays in September, he said.
(Ed. Note: The long holiday ended on November 3. The incubation period for Covid-19 - the time between infection and onset of symptoms - averages 5-6 days, but can be as long as 14 days. Indonesia has recorded more than 3,500 cases per day since November 9, and over 4,000 cases per day since November 10, with two of those days recording totals above 5,000- the highest since the start of the pandemic.)
"248 KPPS and PTPS Officers in Tabanan Return Reactive Results" from Bali Express (Indonesian): After running for three days of rapid tests for the Voting Organizing Group (KPPS) and Polling Station Supervisors (PTPS) in Tabanan Regency, the result was that 248 people were declared reactive. So far, 4,370 KPPS and TPS supervisors have undergone rapid tests, out of a total of 10,170 consisting who must be tested. Only after all KPPS and TPS supervisors have completed a rapid test, then the Commissioner for the Socialization Division of the Tabanan General Election Commission (KPU), Ni Putu Suaryani, will hold a plenary meeting to determine whether KPPS and TPS supervisors whose results are reactive will continue to take the swab test or be replaced immediately. "We will still discuss it first, if for now there is no decision," he said.
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Other Headlines
"184 Kerobokan Prisoners Who Are Positive Covid-19 Heal" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): A total of 184 out of 185 Class II A Kerobokan Class II prison inmates, North Kuta District, Badung who previously tested positive for Covid-19, finally recovered. Only one prisoner is still receiving medical treatment at Rumah Sakti (RS). Meanwhile, those who recovered were immediately returned to their respective blocks... Public Relations of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Bali Province, I Putu Surya Dharma, said that after undergoing a series of independent isolations against 184 prisoners at Kerobokan Prison, finally on Saturday (14/11) afternoon they were declared free from Covid-19. This was after the Badung District Health Office (Diskes) conducted a swab examination of hundreds of prisoners who had undergone isolation.
(Ed. Note: This is the first confirmation on the record by a prison or government official of the total number of inmates at the prisons who were infected, their treatment status, and their swab test results. Previous reports, which had been based on unnamed sources, had put the number of people infected at 181, with all having recovered.)
"Rainfall Will Increase 50%, Balinese People Are Asked To Be Alert" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Until the end of 2020, it is predicted that all areas of Bali will enter the rainy season, whose peak is predicted in January 2021. The potential for rain accompanied by lightning is predicted to occur in the province of Bali which is just entering the rainy season. With this high potential for rainfall, people must be aware of flooding in densely populated areas and landslides in areas that have steep slopes such as in Petang District, Badung Regency... According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources through the Geological Agency, it is predicted that soil movements in the November 2020 period will almost occur in various regencies in Bali. The potential for movement is medium, medium-high, and has the potential for flash floods or the flow of scrap material.
(Ed Note: In addition to noting which areas are most as risk for flooding and landslides, this story also notes the ongoing issue of there not being enough seismometers or tsunami detectors, which is leaving the island ill-prepared for seismic disasters. There is also additional reporting on villagers who are in high-risk areas who have not made any plans to evacuate.)
"China and 14 Asia-Pacific Countries Agree Historic Free Trade Deal" from The Guardian: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed over a video link on Sunday after eight years of negotiations. Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand signed the deal, alongside members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The deal sets the terms of trade in goods and services, cross-border investment and new rules for increasingly important areas such as electronic commerce and intellectual property. The effect on the trade of finished goods between Asian nations will be particularly marked, analysts have said. The combined GDP of the signatories was $26.2tn in 2019, or about 30% of global GDP. The deal will cover nearly 28% of global trade.
(Ed. Note: Learn more about the RCEP here. To read President Jokowi’s statement on the signing, click here.)
"What Pandemic? Gov't Turns A Blind Eye as Hardliners Break Health Protocols" from The Jakarta Globe: Hardline Muslime cleric Rizieq Shihab has gathered thousands of people in many events in Jakarta and West Java since his return from self-exile in Saudi Arabia last week, increasing the risk of Covid-19 spread as the Jakarta provincial government and the National Police looked away from his crowd's blatant disregard of the health protocols... It took six days for the authority to punish Rizieq for the gatherings. The Jakarta Municipal Police (Satpol PP) fined him Rp 50 million ($3,500) on Sunday for celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's Birthday and his daughter's marriage, which gathers thousands of people at his house in Petamburan, Central Jakarta a day earlier. "That's the rule, which applies to anyone," Satpol PP head Arifin told reporters. National Police Chief Idham Azis said the police had acknowledged certain crowds — without singling out FPI — have caused concerns among Jakarta residents and various communities across Indonesia.
(Ed. Note: Without mentioning any groups or individuals by name, Doni Monardo, head of the country’s Covid-19 Task Force, made a point to reiterate the government’s ban on large gatherings yesterday during his daily press conference, which was prominently covered in state media.)
"During Kunker to Bandung, Member of the Klungkung DPRD Dies" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The news of grief surrounds the Klungkung DPRD, because one of its members from the Gerindra Party faction, Ni Nyoman Martini, 65, died while on a working visit (kunker) in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday. This populist politician from Besan Village, Dawan District, Klungkung Regency was found dead in a hotel room just before checking out back to Bali. It is not yet known for sure due to the sudden death of Ni Nyoman Martini. However, the provisional suspicion of the Gerindra party faction was having a heart attack.
"Man Impersonating Army Captain Arrested in Bali for Scamming Local Woman" from The Bali Sun: 41-year-old, Nur Iksan from Demak, Central Java was arrested in his boarding house in Pemogan, South Denpasar on Wednesday after complaints were filed that he had scammed a food stall owner named Jumiati and her daughter, Agustin... Iksan was a loyal customer of the woman’s food stall in Pemogan, Denpasar and had been impersonating a Captain of the military. After gaining her trust, Iksan started a relationship with Agustin to make it easier for him to take advantage of her. At first, he asked for a loan from Jumiati for USD $107 (1.5 million IDR) and gave his laptop to the woman as an assurance that he would pay her back in October. Shortly after the first loan, the perpetrator asked Jumiati for a second loan but this time asked for USD $607 (8.5 million IDR).
The View from Outside
"How COVID is Killing Bali Holidays, Tourism Businesses" from News.com.au: Kuta beaches, resorts in Ubud and bars lining the coast of Uluwatu sit empty and run down as Bali faces ongoing border closures in the wake of COVID-19. Despite opening up to domestic tourism, expats still living on the island believe the once bustling paradise is reaching a point of disrepair with business, restaurant and hotel life being sapped out of the once popular destination. “It’s a far cry from this paradise that we all know and love,” Australian Jack Ahearn, who moved to the island four years ago, told A Current Affair.
(Ed. Note: The Bali Sun has embedded Ahearn's full video from Facebook on their website. You can view it here.)
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
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