Monday, October 19
Stricter enforcement of test results requirement coming to Gilimanuk ferries + Klungkung Police issuing "double penalties" to mask violators + Tourism stimulus money floods island + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, October 19. 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
*Note: Indonesia's meteorological agency, BMKG, has issued a warning for the next week for an increase in rainfall with heavy intensity that can be accompanied by lightning and strong winds.
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, trend charts, and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers in our evening update, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"Users of Ferry Services Must Provide Rapid Test Results" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): During a meeting between Jembrana' Covid-19 Task Force, Dandim 1617, Jembrana Police and others, along with representatives from Ketapang Rver and lake Transportation (ASDP) at the Ketapang Port facilities, officials urged ASDP to more aggressively enforce the Governor of Bali's edict that all passengers traveling to Bali must follow health protocols. One of these is that passengers must have a certificate stating that they are healthy and free from Covid-19... ASDP Indonesia's General Manager Ferry Ketapand Agus Bahri said, By looking at the number fo COvid-19 cases that have not shown a significant downard trend, we from ASDP Ketapang will further tighten the supervision of people who cross to Bali and intensify socialization related to the policies of the Bali Provincial Government, which requires that every citizen going to the island have proof of a negative rapid test."
"There are Still Stubborn, Prokes Violators in Klungkung Receive Double Sanctions" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): During a large health protocol (Prokes) patrol on Jalan Raya Goa Lawah, Dawan District there were still people who were not disciplined in using masks. Even one of the offenders was still determined not to wear a mask after being sanctioned with a fine of Rp. 100,000. So that by the Yustisi Team, the residents were given additional sanctions in the form of pushups. Kasatpol PP and Klungkung Fire Department, Putu Suarta, said that in suppressing the number of Covid-19 cases, intensive justice operations were carried out.
"Bali is Flooded with IDR 1.1 Trillion; IDR 948 Billion Granted to Badung" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Tourism actors, especially hotel and restaurant owners in Badung Regency, have received fresh air amid the income crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is following the fact that the Badung Regency Government has received a grant program of Rp 948 billion from the central government. Badung Regency is also the district with the largest share compared to other areas in Bali. Of the total tourism grant for Bali Province of IDR 1.1 trillion, Badung Regency received IDR 948 billion. The funds will be allocated to 900 hotels and 200 restaurants. "Because we in Bali, especially in Badung, live from the tourism sector, very natural to get more. We are the most affected," said the Acting Badung Regent I Ketut Lihadnyana.
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Other Headlines
"Jobs Law, Week 2: Critics Slam President's Response, Unions Seek Legal Avenues" from The Jakarta Post: As labor unions, activists and their lawyers prepare to petition the Constitutional Court for a judicial review of the recently passed Job Creation Law, critics have accused President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of sidestepping public concerns over the rushed process to pass the legislation. Nearly a year after the President announced his intent to push a set of sweeping revisions in a draft law called the omnibus bill on job creation, lawmakers passed the bill on Oct. 5. The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier than originally expected, in a move that sidestepped unions’ plans to hold a nationwide strike in protest of the bill. The Jokowi administration has continued to insist that the new law is intended to attract foreign investment and create jobs to prop up a floundering economy. This point received a rare nod on Friday from the World Bank, which lauded the legislation as “a major reform effort."
"Indonesians Satisfied with Gov’t Handling of Pandemic Despite Surge in Cases" from The Jakarta Globe: The survey, conducted by research organization Indikator Politik Indonesia in the last week of September, found that 60.5 percent of respondents are satisfied with the works of the Joko Widodo administration in containing the spread of the disease. The percentage of public approval increased significantly from 55.3 during the same survey conducted in July. "The president’s approval rating in the [the government’s] handling of the pandemic remains high and stable," Burhanuddin Muhtadi, the pollster’s director, said in Jakarta. The survey was conducted on Sept. 24-30 involving 1,200 respondents in all 34 provinces.
"Swab Samples [for Testing] Supplied from PTN Unud Hospital" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Mangusada Regional Hospital (RSD) in Kapal Kelurahan, Mengwi District, Badung is currently testing a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tool to detect Covid-19 transmission. According to Dr. Japa, until last Sunday his status was still in the testing stage of the PCR tool, which was a grant from the Bali Provincial Government. "Because from the beginning, it was planned that the PCR test for assistance from the Bali Provincial Government would be tested in 5-7 days. In this trial, we were accompanied by experts, including from the Bali Provincial Health Office," said Dr. Japa... During the trial period, swab samples are brought from PTN Unud Hospital and tested in the new PCR Laboratory. The test results are them matched with the test results from PTN Unud Hospital. This is to see if the results are the same or not. So far, the trial results are going well.
"Video Of Man Like Richard Muljadi Jogging with PJR Escort Make People Excited" from Detik (Indonesian): Circulating on social media, 3 men were jogging in Denpasar with a Highway Patrol (PJR) car escort. It is said that one of the men is Richard Muljadi, the grandson of an Indonesian conglomerate who was caught in a drug case. Richard was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months at the South Jakarta District Court in February 2019. The Bali Police intervened in relation to the circulation of the video on Friday. Currently, authorities are questioning officers who escorted the joggers. (Ed. Note: News about this video has dominated local media over the weekend. It's a HUGE story among locals.)
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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