Monday, September 14
Bangli to use public shaming instead of fines for not wearing masks + No lockdown plan for Denpasar... yet + Badung closes govt HQ amid reports of outbreak among top officials & staff + 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 complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update, which includes a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
"The Regent of Bangli Stops Fines of IDR 100,000" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Bangli Regent, I Made Gianyar, has said that authorities there would stop imposing a fine of Rp. 100,000 for residents without masks. Those who do not wear masks are given sufficient guidance. This decision was taken because of complaints from the public. The Regent will place more emphasis on social or administrative sanctions. The netted offenders' names will be announced via radio broadcast. "Their names will be announced because they violated the ordinance by not wearing a mask. Not only by radio, their names will also be publicized in their area of origin," he said.
(Ed. Note: There are no details offered on whether the fine will be waived for foreigners. However, the Regent does make clear that information on offenders who receive warnings/socialization will still be shared with other Regencies' governments, so the assumption should be made that offending foreigners' information will continue to be sent to Imigrasi.)
"Denpasar Has No 'Lockdown' Plan Yet" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Even though the number of Covid-19 cases per day has increased in Denpasar City, the Denpasar City Government (Pemkot) has not made efforts to isolate the area or "lockdown." "There are no plans yet, we will do this (lockdown)," explained I Dewa Gede Rai, Spokesperson for the city's Covid-19 Task Force. Furthermore, it was said that in order to suppress the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Denpasar City Government is currently only making efforts and steps by involving related parties, especially in the implementation of Prokes in the community. "Of course if the spike continues then we will reactivate the Task Force, both the Task Force at the Banjar, Village, Sub-District and office levels. As well as always carry out supervision, strict monitoring and discipline in an effort to implement the Prokes. certain activities," he explained.
"Badung Regency Government Restricts Citizens' Access to Mangupraja, Allegedly Due to the Spread of Covid-19" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The Regency Government (Pemkab) of Badung has limited access into and out of the center of government in Mangupraja Mandala. It is suspected that a number of officials and staff at the center of government have tested positive for Covid-19. Observed by a reporter for iNews.id, Mangupraja's atmosphere seemed deserted on Sunday... "Everyone has seen this in Bali, especially in Badung Regency. [Covid-19 cases] are increasing, so we have to limit everything to reduce complexity," said Badung Regent I Nyoman Giri Prasta, on Sunday. He added that all places that could potentially cause crowds need to be limited. For that reason, the center of government in Mangupraja was closed from the general public. However, he refused to comment on whether the closure was linked to a number of officials and staff in the Badung Regency Government who were confirmed positive for Covid-19. According to sources, there are a number of officials at the level of department heads, and staff who carry out independent isolation at home or are treated intensively in hospitals.
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Other Headlines
"As Covid-19 Patients in Bali Increase, Sanglah Hospital Adds 30 Beds" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Of the 107 available beds at Sanglah Central General Hospital (RSUP), Denpasar, 98 have been filled. To anticipate the increase in the number of Covid-19 patients, Sanglah Hospital has prepared an additional bed capacity. The number prepared is 30 beds... The beds in the isolation room at Sanglah Hospital are only intended for patients with severe symptoms. Currently only nine beds are available at this Covid-19 referral hospital in Bali. The availability of beds for Covid-19 patients in 55 referral hospitals in Bali is 778 beds. The provincial government of Bali previously stated that it would increase the bed capacity for Covid-19 patients to 1,025 beds.
"Provincial Government Prepares Star-level Hotels for OTG Treatment" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): "The Governor said that in Bali he is also preparing a star hotel as a place for OTG treatment or without symptoms or for those who are already in the cured category, so of course this can reduce capacity in the hospital," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto... Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Covid-19 Task Force, Made Rentin, said he agreed that when in the past hotels had been used as a place for isolation of Covid-19 patients, the cases were very well controlled because Covid-19 patients were concentrated in hotels. In addition, the spread of the Corona virus can be controlled.
"Government Bears Self-isolation Expense of Asymptomatic Patients' from Antara: "The government through the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Finance Ministry has prepared two and three star hotels for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients at the government's expense in accordance with the president's instruction," said Chief of the COVID-19 Task Force Doni Monardo. "We will continue to increase the capacity of beds, medical workers, and supporting facilities or medicines," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said.
"Puputan Badung Field, City Park, and Lumintang Field Closed Again Following Increase In Cases In Denpasar" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Opened with the implementation of the "New Normal" in Bali, Puputan Badung Field, along with Lumintang Field and Lumintang City Park, Denpasar, have been closed again. In the area outside the Puputan Badung field, a yellow line has been drawn, prohibiting people from crossing... Spokesperson for the cit's Covid-19 Task Force, I Dewa Gede Rai, confirmed that this closure was carried out to suppress the transmission of Covid-19 in public places. Especially since while positive cases are increasing, many people ignore health protocols. "Community discipline is lacking; we found many not wearing masks and crowding around. So to avoid a bigger increase in cases, starting today, the Task Force has decided to close these three public places again,” said Dewa Rai.
"Badung Dandim Gives 'Push-up" Sanctions for Violators of Health Protocols" from Antara (Indonesian): Dandim 1611 / Badung Colonel Infantry I Mase Alit Yudana together with Denpasar Satpol PP gave sanctions in the form of "push-ups" to residents in the Denpasar area who violated health protocols. He admits that many people do not comply with health protocols, especially in the use of masks... Mase Alit Yudana said the results of the inspection indicated that residents who were not yet responsible for implementing health protocols, one of which was doing activities without wearing masks. According to him, if allowed to do so, it would be vulnerable to the safety and health of residents because of contracting and transmitting COVID-19. "While the actions taken are still prioritizing warnings and education, including those in 'push-ups,'" he said.
"As Bali Attempts to Forge A New Era, We Need to Stop Spinning Fables About It and Listen to Balinese" from Travelfish: Dwi Ermayanthi, known as Erma, is one of many Balinese in tourism and hospitality who recognise that parts of their industry have been unhealthy for a long time. She rapid-fire lists rampant overdevelopment, plastic pollution, and water shortages as decades-old widespread concerns. “But right now I feel so relieved,” Erma admits. “I’ve recently read a few articles featuring photos of Ubud before the pandemic, with extreme traffic congestion and thousands of motorbikes, and in my heart I know I don’t want it to become like that again. I’m in the tourism industry myself, and my income has dropped drastically, but I still don’t want it ever to return to what it was like in January 2020.”
"Grab Wheels is Bali's New Eco-Friendly Transportation" from The Bali Sun: Grab is hoping to reduce the impact that motor vehicles have on the environment in Bali by offering ‘Grab Wheels’. Bali City Manager Grab Indonesia, Kresno Wibowo hopes that Grab Wheels could be one of the eco-friendly solutions to reduce greenhouse gasses from the vehicle emission. With over-populated roadways filled with cars and motorbike in Bali, the air quality has suffered on the island of the Gods... Governor Koster gave his support to introduce Grab Wheels in Bali. He has been preparing the regulation in terms of electric vehicle use in his province. The Governor plans on creating electric vehicle corridors in the tourist areas of Bali where only electric vehicles will be permitted. The Governor stated this would create a healthier and more peaceful environment for tourism.
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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