November 16, 2021
Bali PPKM extended until November 29 + Govt studying Vaccinated Travel Lanes + 20,000 foreign tourists cancel Bali trips due to flight constraints & visas + more
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Java-Bali Community Activity Restrictions Extended Till Nov 29” from Antara: The enforcement of PPKM in the Java-Bali region has been extended by two weeks until November 29, 2021, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has announced. In a statement on Monday, he reminded the public to remain vigilant, saying the number of cases in several districts and cities in the region has increased in the past week. Throughout Java-Bali, 29% of districts and cities have recorded a rise in the number of cases compared to the previous week, he noted. Meanwhile, 34% of districts and cities in the region have reported an increase in the number of treated COVID-19 patients, he said. "We have to be cautious, especially with the Christmas and New Year holidays approaching,” the minister said.
Context: See below for a related story regarding the suggested banning of New Year's celebrations that “have the potential to cause large crowds”.
“Gov't Still Studying Vaccinated Travel Lanes Program” from Antara: The government is still reviewing the possibility of Indonesia's participation in the Vaccinated Travel Lanes program to revive its tourism sector, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said. The Vaccinated Travel Lanes program is a tourism concept implemented by several countries, including those in the Asia-Pacific, that is geared toward fully vaccinated travelers who possess vaccination certificates. "The study on the Vaccinated Travel Lanes program continues to be carried out, and the government continues to monitor the rate of cases in various countries," Hartarto said on Monday.
Context: Other media reported the commencement of a VTL between Indonesia and Singapore has been earmarked to commence on November 29.
“20,000 Tourists Canceled Bali Trips Due to Flight Constraints, e-Visa Quota” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): Until now there has not been a single international flight that has landed at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. Regarding this, the Deputy Governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati alias Cok Ace said on Monday "I see that our newest competitor, Cambodia, has even implemented zero quarantine," he said, adding “What the Governor has conveyed to me, there are data, actually in November there are many who will come to Bali, even 20,000 passengers from big flights can't be realized because one of them is long-distance flights must be direct, can't get passengers on the road.” Another problem expressed by Cok Ace is that “problems such as the e-visa quota which is at a quota of 1,500 per day.”
Context: This is not the first time the 20,000 figure has surfaced (Indonesian), though the hotel industry has previously questioned the sourcing of this number (Indonesian). This is the first mention we’ve seen of a “tourist visa quota”, which we assume is a reference to the expanded 211 Business Visa (which has a more complicated application process than a normal tourist visa, and requires a sponsor), as being another reason for “cancellations”. A related story suggests Bali is hoping for 4,000 foreign direct tourist arrivals (Indonesian) by the end of 2021.
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Other Headlines
“Gov't Prioritizing Elderly Over Children for Covid-19 Vaccination” from Antara: The Indonesian government is still prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations for the elderly and adults over children, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said. "The elderly tend to have more risk with COVID-19 than children. We are prioritizing vaccinating the elderly among whom now the coverage is still around 40%. Once it is finished then we will start to vaccinate other groups with a lower risk of fatality," the minister said on Monday. "Child vaccinations will be given based on risk. That is why we vaccinated the health workers first because they get to meet suspected patients every day," Sadikin said.
Vaccination Update
“Indonesia's Covid-19 Vaccinations Top Who Target” from Antara: Indonesia's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the target set by the World Health Organization, spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has said. As per the WHO target, countries need to vaccinate at least 40% of their population by the end of 2021. "Indonesia has managed to achieve it faster than the WHO target," Tarmizi said on Monday. The WHO had asked all countries to vaccinate at least 10% of their population by the end of September 2021, 40% of the people by the end of 2021, and 70% by mid-2022, she said.
More...
Nation: “Health Ministry Reviewing Antivirus Medicines Besides Molnuvirapir” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Delta Variant in Indonesia Reaches 4,732 Cases, Bali Cases Double” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): The Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Health noted that the distribution of mutation cases of the coronavirus which is classified as Variant of Concern currently reaches 4,830 cases. WHO has determined four variants that fall into this category, namely B117 Alpha, B1351 Beta, B1617.2 Delta, and P1 Gamma. P1 variant that has not been identified in the country. The Delta variant was found the most in Indonesia with 4,732 cases, followed by the Alfa variant 76 cases, and the Beta variant 22 cases. The number of VoC cases in Indonesia has increased by 719 cases in less than a month. The Delta variant that spreads in Bali has doubled. On October 16, the Ministry of Health only recorded 52 Delta variants in Bali, but in the latest report, the Delta variant more than doubled to 134 cases.
More...
Nation: “Greater Compliance to Health Protocols Among Vaccinated Residents” from Antara
Province: “Council Urges Ministry of Health to Remove Tourist Quarantine” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Bali's Open Unemployment Rate Declines” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): The open unemployment rate in Bali has improved even though the economy is still experiencing contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on data from BPS Bali, the open unemployment rate in Bali in the August 2021 period is 5.37%. This percentage decreased by 0.25% when compared to the August 2020 period. The Head of the Division of Industrial Relations and Labor Supervision of the Bali Manpower Office, Tri Arya Dhyana, said that the decline in open unemployment was because many workers in Bali had begun to switch to the informal sector. In addition, the PPKM is starting to loosen so that the tourism sector is moving again by utilizing domestic tourists.
More...
Province: “Bali Will Make Regional Companies Manage Digital Tourism” from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian)
Badung: “Interest in Owning a Property in the Canggu is High” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“BTB Highlights International Flight Frequency at Ngurah Rai Airport” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Bali Tourism Board provided input to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Bali Provincial Government. The input highlighted circular SE 85 2021 from the Ministry of Transportation which stated that Ngurah Rai Airport could only accept one flight every two hours, valid for domestic and foreign. According to him, this would be difficult for foreign airlines to accept, so he asked for the regulation to be revised. Responding to this, Stakeholder Relations Manager Angkasa Pura I (Persero) International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali Taufan Yudhistira said the provision was to minimize the accumulation of passengers at the arrival terminal. When asked if there is an international flight schedule to Bali for the last two weeks of November and next December, Taufan said that until today there has been none.
More...
“Indonesia Ready to Hold International Events” from Antara
“Luhut Plans to Ban New Year Celebrations” from Bali Express (Indonesian): Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government plans to ban New Year's celebrations that have the potential to cause large crowds, as an effort to anticipate the increase in cases during Christmas and New Year. "On this occasion, in the midst of the increasing number of cases in Europe and several other countries that continue to be high, I again invite all of us not to be selfish and encourage each other so that we can both obey the health protocols that are constantly being advised so that we don't repeat the same. bad experiences in the past due to our negligence," said Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday.
Of Interest
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How You Can Help Bali
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