October 15, 2021
Slow start as Bali reopens + Bali’s vaccine first dose reaches 99% of target population + Governor says 20,000 room bookings for November + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Slow Start as Bali Re-opens to Foreign Tourists” from BBC: The much anticipated re-opening of Bali has seen a slow start, with no international flights scheduled. As of Thursday, fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries including China, India, and France can enter Bali. But visitors must first serve a five-day quarantine in a hotel. The island has one of the highest vaccination rates in Indonesia, with more than 82% fully vaccinated, according to health ministry data. Officials had only released the full list of countries on Wednesday evening, and have said they expect hotel and flight bookings to pick up over time. The head of the Bali tourism office, I Putu Astawa said the Covid situation remained "dynamic". "If there is a new variant, we must be careful first while we evaluate further developments," he said.
“Bali’s Vaccination First Dose Reaches 99% of Target” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Bali Province Covid-19 Handling Task Force reported that as of Wednesday the achievement of the Covid-19 vaccination in the area for the first dose had targeted 3,374,230 people or 99.09% of the target set. "Covid-19 vaccination in Bali Province to achieve 'herd immunity' or group immunity is targeted at 3,405,130 people," said Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Task Force I Made Rentin, on Thursday. Meanwhile, people who have received the second dose as of October 13 has reached 2,838,197 people (83.35%). The highest vaccination rate was achieved by Denpasar, with 141.6% for the first dose and 112.9% for the second. The lowest was Buleleng, with the first dose at 79.8% and the second at 66.2%.
Context: Don’t forget, you can follow Bali’s vaccination progress in the Bali Beat Sunday evening edition.
“Bali Governor Reveals 20,000 Room Bookings for November” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): Even though on the first day Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport was reopened to serve international flights, there were no planes arriving or departing from Bali to overseas, Bali Governor Wayan Koster revealed that almost 20,000 foreign tourists had ordered hotel room on the island of the gods. "From the report I received yesterday, from the 19 countries (tourists who were allowed to enter Bali) there were indeed those who ordered hotels. There are some countries that reach up to 3,000, some are 2,000, some are 1,500. I have seen quite a few from Europe," said Wayan Koster on Thursday. "In total, it was November that 20,000 ordered orders per day yesterday.
Context: It is unclear if the Governor was referring to 20,000 individual bookings, or 20,000 room nights (as the story title suggest). In this story (Indonesian) he is quoted as saying the bookings were from 20,000 people. All international inbound visits to Bali currently include a mandatory four night quarantine stay in a hotel. This story suggests Ubud has seen zero bookings since the reopening (Indonesian).
>> Classifieds <<
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The Movement of Recovery (Yayasan Pergerakan Pemulihan) is one of the main drivers of mental health services in Bali. Together with BBB Community, they launched LISA (Love Inside Suicide Awareness), a helpline which offers support in Bahasa Indonesian and English. They offer free counselling and support for those in need. For more information, please visit their website here.
Other Headlines
“Indonesia Enforces New Regulations for International Travelers” from Antara: The government has implemented new regulations for international travelers arriving in Indonesia from Thursday, the government's spokesperson for COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, has said. The government has decided to reduce the quarantine period from eight days to five days in view of the recent improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia, he said. International travelers will have to undergo two COVID-19 PCR tests: one upon arrival and another on the fourth day of quarantine to determine whether they can come out of quarantine and leave the hotel on the fifth day or not. Foreign tourists will be required to present a limited visit visa, health insurance covering COVID-19 positive diagnosis, and hotel reservation and payment proof to the officials upon their arrival in Indonesia, he said.
Context: Details regarding how much of a stay an international traveller must pay for in advance (and have proof of) are yet to be released.
Vaccination Update
“Indonesia Receives Hundreds of Thousands of Pfizer, Astrazeneca Vaccines” from Antara: Hundreds of thousands of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine doses arrived in Indonesia on Thursday, marking the 89th and 90th stages of vaccine arrival in the country. The 89th stage of vaccine arrival comprised 601,380 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the form of finished products, thereby bringing the number of Pfizer vaccine doses received by Indonesia to 16.3 million as of October 14. Meanwhile, the 90th stage, which also arrived on the same day, comprised 672,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The country received a total of 282,490,700 doses through the arrivals of vaccines from various brands.
More ...
Nation: “Minister Ensures Covid Vaccination Access for Baduy People” from Antara
Jembrana: “Team Holds Justice Operations in Coastal Areas” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Bali Targets 10,000 Business Places For PeduliLindungi” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Bali Government is targeting 10,000 business places to implement PeduliLindungi application scanners. In addition, CHSE certification for business actors continues to be intensified. Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, on Thursday said there are 1,576 places of business that have the CHSE certificate. "The government is targeting 10,000 applications at business places in Bali. As of October 10, 9,322 places of business in Bali have used the PeduliLindungi app as an entry requirement," said the Governor.
More...
Nation: “Govt to Implement PPKM During Christmas & New Year” from Antara
Province: “IDR 1 Million Fine for Foreigners Violating Prokes Still Applies” from Kumparan (Indonesian)
Bangli: “A Week of No Patients, Bangli Hospital Isoter Closed” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “During Pandemic, Denpasar Nets Thousands of Offenders” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Badung Ring Road Project Constrained by Land Acquisition” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The southern ring road of Badung Regency is a program that has been stated in the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan for 2016-2021. However, until now the project remains stuck. Badung Head of Public Works and Spatial Planning, IB Surya Suamba admitted that the design for this ring road project is still in progress. However, there are still problems with land acquisition. "It's still in the process, right from the leadership, regarding the issue of land acquisition, the costs are not yet," said Suamba on Thursday. “The estimated cost of land acquisition is IDR 700 billion. For now, the problem is in the budget,” he explained.
Context: The images attached to the above story may be of interest to those with an interest in Bali’s Bukit Peninsula.
More ...
Badung: “Many Layoffs, Poverty in Badung Increases” from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
Buleleng: “Buleleng Robusta Coffee is Processed Holistically” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “After One Month, APPBI Bali Recorded 10-20% Mall Visits” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
Education
“PTM SMA/SMK in Regency/City Keep going” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): In just a few weeks of implementing face-to-face learning, three positive cases of Covid-19 were experienced by three students at two SMAN in Tabanan Regency. As a result, the PTM in the two schools was temporarily suspended. Head of the Bali Province Youth and Sports Education Office, I Ketut Ngurah Boy Jayawibawa, on Thursday admitted that PTM at two SMANs in Tabanan had to be temporarily suspended because there were students who tested positive for Covid-19. However, the positive case is not a school cluster, but a family cluster. "This means that the student is not infected during the implementation of PTM at school, but because the student is exposed to activities at home and in the family environment," said Ngurah Boy.
Bali Reopening
“Bali Provincial Government Allows Regular Tourists to Stay at Quarantine Hotels” from Merdeka (Indonesian): The Bali Provincial Government has allowed 35 hotels in Bali to be used as quarantine places for foreign tourists to be occupied by regular tourists. Bali Governor Wayan Koster said that several hotels have separate towers and villas and that they can be used for quarantined tourists and regular tourists. "If one building has several floors, the hotel management can regulate which floor is for quarantine, which floor is for (regular) tourists who are important not to mix in one floor or one building. That can be managed by the hotel itself. So they understand," said Koster on Thursday.
Context: This represents a softening of the Bali government’s position that quarantine hotels could not accept non-quarantine guests. It has been a point of disagreement between Bali hotels and the government. In Jakarta, hotels have been permitted to accept both.
“Asita Bali Says Visa Application Rules Still Confuse Foreign Tourists” from Kumparan (Indonesian): The Association of Indonesian Travel Companies Bali assesses that the regulations for applying for a visa to Bali are not clear so that there are still many foreign tourists who are confused when planning a vacation. “Indeed, there are already regulations regarding the types of visas that can be applied, the question is whether the visa is applied by prospective tourists or through other parties. If there is a guarantor, who can be the guarantor? This is still unclear," said Asita Bali Chair, Putu Winastra, on Thursday. Winastra said on Thursday that if Bali was really opened to foreign tourists, the regulations regarding visas should be clear. Especially regarding who is allowed to apply for the visa, and how the payment rules are.
Weekend Reads
“Solving Bali’s Rivers of Trash” from Hakai Magazine
“Historic Komodo, Images of a Conservation Struggle” from Southeast Asia Globe
“Indonesia’s Iconic Indomie is Beloved by Millions” from The South China Morning Post (Metered Paywall)
Of Interest
“Military Officer Allegedly Helped Influencer Rachel Vennya Escape Quarantine” from Coconuts Jakarta
“Gus Muhaimin Asks Government to Remove Illegal Loan Apps” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
“Prisons Over Capacity, Dominated by Drug Convicts” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“Police Reveals 36 Drug Cases in Denpasar” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
“Domestic Tourists Sell Pot, Get Arrested, Face 20 years” from Kumparan (Indonesian)
“Russian Citizen Faces 20 Years in Prison for DMT” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
How You Can Help Bali
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis due to Covid19, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. By the middle of 2020, over 100,000 people on Bali had lost their job. While government support has been limited, Indonesians and foreigners have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to those most in need.
We've been raising awareness of these efforts, and if you’d like to make a contribution of any kind, you can see a list of some organisations here. Further projects have registered themselves with Bali Solidarity. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global
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