November 30, 2021
Bali PPKM extended until December 14 + Dozens of Denpasar school kids test positive for Covid-19 + Famous dolphins missing, feared dead + more
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“PPKM Java-Bali Extended Until December 14, Some Regions to Level 2” from Kompas (Indonesian): Spokesperson for the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Jodi Mahardi, confirmed that the Java-Bali PPKM were extended for 14 days. The policy was extended from 30 November to 14 December 2021. "It was extended by two weeks," said Jodi on Monday. Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the pandemic situation due to the transmission of the corona virus in Java-Bali continues to show improvement. This is the impact of the PPKM which has been in effect for several months. "The implementation of PPKM which is still being carried out in Java-Bali shows a fairly stable trend," Luhut said.
Context: In a related story, Luhut was quoted as saying Indonesia’s vaccination rate was above 60%. As of yesterday, official data indicated the nationwide fully vaccinated rate was around 44% with 11 provinces below 30%.
“Dozens of Denpasar Students and Teachers Test Positive for Covid-19” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Schools in Denpasar are undergoing Covid-19 sampling tests for students, teachers, and employees. Since November 11, 2021, a number of schools have taken samples of students as well as teachers and employees as an evaluation of limited PTM activities that have been carried out since October 1, 2021. As a result, there were several students or teachers who were confirmed positive for Covid-19. "The number of students who have tested positive for Covid-19 is 31, while the other 6 are teachers," said Denpasar City Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson, I Dewa Gede Rai, on Monday. Of the total 37 positive cases, 31 were elementary school students, 30 people and 1 junior high school student. While the rest are teachers, namely 4 elementary school teachers and an additional 2 high school teachers.
Context: Other news sources put the case number at 35 (Indonesian). Officially, Bali registered 11 positive cases yesterday and 93 cases over the last seven days.
“Activists Reveal the Sad Fate of the Dolphins” from Detik (Indonesian): The National Children's Coalition for Dolphins revealed the condition of the viral dolphin ridden by Lucinta Luna in Bali. Activists say the animal is now in an overcapacity pond and two dolphins are missing. "Unfortunately, this temporary location is in a more serious condition," said Pinneng Sulungbudi, a member of the National Children's Coalition for Dolphins, on Monday. Pinneng said the dolphins were not rehabilitated at sea, but instead moved from the marine cage owned by Dolphin Lodge Bali to the Bali Exotic Marine Park pool, which can only accommodate 10 animals. "Previously there were five dolphins (which were accommodated there), plus seven more. The pool would not be suitable to accommodate all of them. Even worse, two dolphins in the Bali Exotic Marine Park are now missing," said Pinneng. Seeing this condition, the National Children's Coalition for Dolphins started a petition to free the dolphins since May 2021. The petition now has 75,000 signatures.
Context: A second story on Detik suggests the missing dolphins have died. The online petition is here. For information on how harmful swimming with dolphins is, this (US-centric) piece is instructive. In 2020, Indonesia’s dolphin travelling circus was shut down, but private operations like the above persist.
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Other Headlines
“Foreigners Who Enter From 11 Banned Countries Will Be Deported” from Kompas (Indonesian): Foreign nationals who come from 11 countries or have visited 11 countries and have already entered Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta Airport starting Monday will be immediately deported. The 11 countries are South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Angola and Hong Kong. The Head of the Port Health Office of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Darmawali Handoko, said that his party would first check the passports of foreigners. "We will see if there is a travel history or have lived in 11 regions (countries) that are not allowed to enter Indonesia," Handoko said on Monday. "If you enter today, we will definitely recommend Immigration to be deported," he said.
Context: Related news coverage suggested the banning has political support and more countries may be added to the ban list, but are yet to be added. Some feel a 14-day quarantine would be prudent (Indonesian).
Vaccination Update
“NTB Police Pursues Massive Vaccination Ahead of 2022 MotoGP” from Antara: The West Nusa Tenggara Regional Police is pursuing massive COVID-19 vaccination for the community to prepare the region for the 2022 MotoGP racing event. "Next year's MotoGP is forecast to bring more participants, six times bigger than the previous World Superbike (WSBK). To this end, we must expedite vaccination in an effort to achieve herd immunity in NTB," Head of Public Relations of the NTB Regional Police Senior Commissioner Artanto said on Monday. Artanto is optimistic that the community would support the vaccination program by visiting the vaccination location readied in every sub-district. Artanto also ensured the readiness of vaccine stocks in NTB. "With this effort, we hope that all NTB residents would be fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity in the region and be able to curb the spread of COVID-19, especially for the MotoGP next year," he remarked.
Context: Tying a major event to the drive for people to get vaccinated was an approach also used for WSBK. The fully vaccinated level in Central Lombok (where WSBK was staged) is currently around 45%.
More...
Nation: “Two-thirds of Indonesians Get First Vaccine Doses” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“HIV Case Count 47% Lower in 2020 Than Decade Ago” from Antara: Director of control and prevention of directly infectious diseases at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has said that HIV infections were 47% lower in 2020 compared to 2010. In 2020, it is estimated that there were 543,100 people in Indonesia living with HIV, she noted. A total of 30,100 people with HIV were estimated to have died, but only 10,103 deaths were reported to the authorities, she said. A total of 149,883 people living with HIV spread across 502 districts/cities had ready access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, she said. "We must accelerate our efforts to break the chain of HIV transmission. There are many things we must do, such as learning from Thailand, to quickly reduce the number of HIV cases," Tarmizi remarked.
More...
Nation: “Cases May Rise by 70,000--400,000 in Third Wave” from Antara
Nation: “Beware of Covid-19 Third Wave During Christmas, New Year” from Antara
Buleleng: “New Omicron Variant Appears, Disinfectant Spraying Activated Again” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Jokowi Assures Investors as Job Creation Law is Deemed Unconstitutional” from Tempo: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday made a statement mentioning the latest Constitutional Court verdict deeming the Job Creation Act unconstitutional and needs revisions. Instead of commenting on the verdict, the President made a statement reassuring investors on the continuation of investments in Indonesia. “I assure businesses and investors, both domestic and foreign, that investments that were committed and that are in the process of being realized will continue to be processed safely,” said the President. Despite calling for improvements to be made within two years, the Constitutional Court did not revoke or repeal any Article contained within the Law, and said the Job Creation Act remains valid. “I have ordered coordinating ministers and state ministers to follow up the verdict as soon as possible,” he said.
More...
Nation: “Pelita Air Ready to Open Scheduled Flights” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: “Senggigi Entertainment Venues Saw No Visitors During WSBK” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian)
Province: “Bali's Economy Increases 6.2%” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Province: “Exploring Investment Opportunities, EU Supports Bali's Recovery” from Kumparan (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Omicron Appears, Koster Asks Balinese to Patiently Wait for Foreign Tourists” from Detik (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster asked Bali tourism players to be patient in waiting for the arrival of foreign tourists amidst the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19. "It seems that we still have to be patient, previously we had opened foreign tourists on October 14 last," said Koster on Monday. "But the dynamics of COVID-19 abroad actually developed in wave three, wave four even. And now a new variant has emerged from South Africa," he added. Koster said the Omicron variant had already entered Australia. He received information that the variant entered the Kangaroo Country yesterday. "So apparently we have to be patient with foreign tourists because the central government will tighten again regarding the emergence of this new variant. And he said it is more dangerous than the Delta variant," he said.
Context: The “Kangaroo Country” (Negeri Kanguru) phrase was not attributed as a direct quote from the Governor.
More...
“Tourism Operators at Wits' End as Foreign Visitors Stay Away” from The Straits Times
“Sandiaga: Omicron Will Affect Tourism” from Tempo
“Garuda Reportedly to Fly Tokyo to Bali in Early December” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
“Keep Borders Open as We Tackle New Variant” from Agence France-Presse: The head of the WHO in Africa on Sunday urged countries to follow the science rather than imposing flight bans in a bid to contain the new Omicron coronavirus variant. "With the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity," said WHO regional director general Matshidiso Moeti. "Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly reducing the spread of COVID-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods," the WHO said in a statement.
Context: Despite the request by WHO, many countries are imposing travel restrictions on southern Africa, including Indonesia, Thailand, Qatar, the United States and the United Kingdom. This story details the mixed responses worldwide.
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Of Interest
“Underwater Volcano Ile Werung Erupts in Lembata” from Antara
“Indonesia's Veteran Music Observer Bens Leo Dies of Covid-19” from Tempo
“Villa Guest in North Kuta Found Lifeless” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
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How You Can Help Bali
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