Monday, November 30
Country passes 6,000 daily cases + Tabanan testing & tracing yields results + Pres. Widodo says parents must be "patient" waiting for schools to reopen + Half of Kuta Beach washed away by tide + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, November 30. 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 & 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
"Indonesia Daily Coronavirus Cases Hit New Milestone of 6,000" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia reached a new milestone in daily number of coronavirus cases after adding 6,267 new cases on Sunday, the third time it broke its own daily record during the past week alone. The country now has a total of 534,266 cases amid a dramatic surge in newly cases spurred mainly by four provinces in the most crowded island of Java. It reported a record-equaling daily death toll of 169, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 16,815.
"Jokowi Calls for Patience As Schools Remain Closed Amid Virus Concerns" from The Jakarta Post: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has called on parents to stay cautious and patiently continue assisting their children in remote learning, suggesting that the majority of schools across the country would still be closed for the remainder of the year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “I realize that there are many parents who can’t wait until schools reopen,” Jokowi said, as quoted by kompas.com. “But we need to be careful, because health and safety are most crucial.” He went on to say that schools across the archipelago would still be required to apply and enforce prevailing health protocols once they were allowed to reopen, so as to further stem the spread of the coronavirus.
"Intense Tracing, Tabanan Adds 34 Cases of COVID-19 in One Day" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Tabanan Regency noted that the increase in COVID-19 cases was quite high as of Sunday (29/11/2020), as many as 34 people. The Task Force for Handling COVID-19 in Tabanan Regency assessed that this happened because of the intense tracking and tracing . Most of the positive cases were people without symptoms (OTG). Some time ago, Tabanan Regency received assistance from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination laboratory , preparation of facilities for OTG isolation, and assistance of contact tracer personnel at each puskesmas. This situation has made tracking and tracing activities in the district more intensively carried out. So that the cases of COVID-19 that are found are increasing. "Because of this, the tracking and tracing process has become much more intense than before, so that more cases have been found," said the coordinator of the Tabanan Regency COVID-19 task force public information, I Putu Dian Setiawan. As more and more cases of COVID-19 are found, steps to prevent transmission can be taken earlier.
(Ed. Note: This story goes into more detail, such as how 13 of the new cases are police officers who were found thanks to the Regency’s mass testing program, and it’s an illustration of how increased testing combined with a robust contact tracing program can help to prevent or quickly arrest outbreaks. When combined with mask wearing and social distancing, it is the best defense that we have against the virus until a vaccine is rolled out. You can see the effectiveness of Tabanan’s testing & tracing efforts that began in earnest midway through the month in the chart below.)
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Other Headlines
"Buleleng Hospital PCR Lab Obtains Operational Permit" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): After waiting for it, finally the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Laboratory of Buleleng Hospital, which has been tested since November 10, received an operational permit from the Ministry of Health. This operational permit also approves the swab test procedure at Buleleng Hospital. With this operational permit, it can send Covid-19 swab test data directly to the Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) without having to go through Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar. Buleleng Regional Hospital permit can also receive swab testing from neighboring districts or those submitted independently by the community. Buleleng's PCR Lab can test 100 specimens in a day in accordance with the provisions and capabilities of the PCR tool which is the assistance of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).
"Building World Trust, Tourism Workers Underwent PCR Swabs" from Bali Express (Indonesian): More than one hundred tourism actors in Bali, ranging from managers to employees of hotels, restaurants, travel agents, and other tourism business sectors under the auspices of the Bali Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) Bali Branch or Bali Toursim Board (BTB) are undergoing a swab program. PCR. "The program has been running for about a month ago. We started with getting 50 people checked per day. Now the capacity may have increased. About a hundred people per day, ”explained the Head of GIPI Bali / BTB Branch, Ida Bagus Agung Partha. He hopes that next month the capacity can be increased again in the range of 200 to 300 people... He hopes that the PCR swab program that is currently being implemented can reach all tourism components under the auspices of GIPI. "We share the schedule with all stake holders under GIPI. Which one is ready, we provide a schedule for the swab. Later, if there is something positive, we will hand over the treatment to the Task Force. But at the hotel it's easy. There is a coordinator and a quarantine place,” he said.
"10 Portraits of Abrasion Management and the Latest Atmosphere on Kuta Beach" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The tourist attraction of Kuta Beach experienced abrasion after being hit by high tide on Sunday. At that time, the tide was overflowing up the road in front of the Kuta Beach Management Office. After the tide receded, the sand at the site was carried out to the sea in some spots and accumulated in others. The Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) Office of Badung Regency has since made arrangements for Kuta Beach's repair using heavy equipment. In this process, PUPR is constrained by the minimal amount of sand on the beach near the point of abrasion. In order to cover the shortage of sand, PUPR plans to take sand from Mertasari Beach, Sanur, South Denpasar. This is a portrait of the abrasion handling and the latest atmosphere of Kuta Beach.
"Police Raid Illegal Races in Denpasar Early Sunday, Dozens of Youths Secured" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Firm efforts have been made by the joint personnel of the Bali Regional Police and Denpasar Police regarding illegal racing that has recently returned to the capital of Bali Province. Director of Reskrimum Polda Bali, Kombes Pol Dodi Rahmawan said the police managed to secure dozens of youths and dozens of motorbikes from illegal racing locations in Denpasar. "As for the Ranmor Evidence that was successfully secured from the illegal race location, 31 riders and 22 motorbikes," he said to the Bali Tribune. "We are taking preventive measures by securing gangs of young people in locations that are often used for Trek-Trekking action along the road around Jalan Gatsu Barat, Denpasar City," he added.
"Many hotels and Restaurants In Ubud Are closed, Gianyar Police Are Intensely Patrolling" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): During the Covid-19 pandemic, many hotels and restaurants in Gianyar Regency were closed. Especially in the tourist village of Ubud. Anticipating the unwanted, especially preventing criminal acts, the Gianyar Police have intensified patrols. "Many business establishments (tourism) are closed. This means that there are a lot of job losses. Potential criminal acts or vulnerabilities will exist," said AKP Losa Araujo. Although there is potential for vulnerability, however, based on data on incoming crimes, nothing stands out. "In Gianyar, there are no significant criminal acts. It does not mean that the Covid situation does not affect it," he said.
"Minister of Transportation Again Discussing Opening Direct Flights from China and Singapore to Bali" from Kumparan (Indonesian): The Ministry of Transportation has begun discussing cooperation with a number of countries to reopen international flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that so far this cooperation was carried out with Singapore and China. "We have started an agreement," he said. This cooperation would prioritize direct flights or without transit ( direct flights ) between a country and a tourist area. There are already several airports in Indonesia that serve direct PP flights. Budi Karya ensures that all passengers at the terminal, airport or port will undergo a strict inspection. So that when they travel in Indonesia, they are free from COVID-19. Budi is not sure when the international flight schedule will reopen.
"Indonesia, World Bank Strike Deal On Emissions Reduction" from The Jakarta Post: The Environment and Forestry Ministry and the World Bank signed a deal on Friday on the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which provides an additional opportunity for the government to receive payments in exchange for reducing carbon emissions. Under the agreement, Indonesia will be eligible to receive up to US$ 110 million for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation until 2025. The results-based payment scheme seeks to advance the government’s goal of reducing carbon emissions in East Kalimantan by 22 million tons."
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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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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