Saturday, August 1
As domestic tourism returns w/4k arrivals, Bali moves to Yellow Zone & Guv asks feds to re-open to foreigners + Klungkung's state of emergency extended indefinitely + AirAsia adds flights + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Saturday, August 1. Please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. I happily put this daily newsletter together as a public service, and it will be free so long as the current emergency lasts. *A paid subscription is NOT required to access this content.* When signing up, select the "None" option and you'll get it delivered to your Inbox each day. If you would like to support my work, please consider making a voluntary contribution of US$5/month. Supporters receive an early update on the government’s daily infection & recovery numbers each night within an hour or so of their announcement… plus my enduring gratitude!
PUBLICATION CHANGE REMINDER: Starting tonight, all subscribers will receive an update on the day’s Covid-19 infection & recovery numbers within about an hour of their publication, around 17:00-18:00 local time. Tomorrow there will be no morning news summary and all Sundays going forward will be my “off” day, though you will still receive the Covid-19 numbers in the evening. On Monday, the (slightly) redesigned newsletter will debut, as will its new name in your Inbox: The Bali Beat.
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
Regency Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
30-Day Trends:
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under in-patient observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the websites of each Regency's Covid-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
Sources:
The national update comes from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency: @BNPB_Indonesia
The Bali Numbers infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
NOTE: While the national government includes daily testing totals in its infographic, Bali’s provincial government does not routinely release this data, so it is not included.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION ALERT: Yesterday, the Directorate of Immigration published their new policies concerning Visas on Arrival, Emergency Extensions, and Online Renewals on their social media accounts. The biggest news is that they’ve extended the deadline for getting new visas until August 20. Check yesterday’s newsletter for a breakdown of what they laid out, or read the full post for yourself on the Directorate’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. The link for the new online application system, which as of press time was still not active, is: https://www.visa-online.imigrasi.go.id
"Bali Records Highest Daily Cure Rate" from Antara (Indonesian): Bali's Covid-19 Task Force noted on Friday that the number of patients who had recovered hit 2,876, a jump of 88 people, reaching 84.41% of the number of confirmed cases, as well as being the record percentage of the highest daily cure rate since finding the first case in mid-March 2020. According to Dewa Indra, Task Force Chief, in recent weeks the trend has shown that patients who recover are always higher than the addition of new cases, often even nearly double the addition of new cases.
(Ed. Note: According to the National Government's daily status map - embedded above - Bali has moved from an Orange Zone to a Yellow Zone based on its infection & recovery rates over the last week. As usual, the Provincial Government has not made its testing data public, so the number of tests being administered and the positivity rate amongst people being tested is not known.)
"Bali Reopens Doors to Domestic Tourists After Almost Four Months [Video]" from Channel News Asia: Bali reopened its doors to domestic tourists on Friday (Jul 31) after nearly four months. However, visitors will have to show proof that they have tested negative for COVID-19, and hotels and tourist attractions must comply with a host of health protocols. Chandni Vatvani reports.
"Regent Suwirta Extends Emergency Response Period Until Outbreak Ends" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Regent and Chairperson of Klungkung's Covid-19 Task Force, I Nyoman Suwirta, has again extended the emergency response period for the Covid-19 outbreak in Klungkung. This time, the status extension was not carried out within a month or 30 days but until the Covid-19 pandemic was declared to be over... According to the Regent Suwirta, the extension of the emergency response period due to the Corona Virus (Covid-19) was taken based on consideration of the Covid-19 case in Klungkung. "In fact, of the 42 villages affected there are 10 villages whose cases are quite high and as of this week the development is very volatile," he explained.
Other Headlines
"Bali Reopens for Domestic Tourists with Modest Ceremony" from The Jakarta Post: After a five-month hiatus imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bali was officially reopened for tourism in a modest ceremony in Bali's tourism enclave of Nusa Dua on Thursday evening... "This is a historical day, and the decision to reopen the island was not made hastily. It was made after taking into consideration the number of people who have been discharged and recovered, the mortality rate as well as the fact that the island, with regard to the pandemic, now comprises green and yellow zones, no red zones," Luhut said in his speech.
"On 56 Scheduled Flights, an Estimated 4,000 People Arrived Yesterday" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The arrival of GA 402 flight passengers on the Jakarta-Denpasar route using an A330 wide body aircraft with 84 passengers at 10:15 WITA was the first arrival of domestic tourists at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport and marked Bali's reopening... General Manager of Commercial PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) for I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport, Rahmat Adil Indrawan. said that the estimated number of arriving passengers could reach 4,000. While for Thursday's flights (7/30/2020) there were 29 flight arrivals with 1,800 passengers and 30 flight departures with 2,200 passengers.
"Growing 17%, Ngurah Rai Airport Served 17,757 Passengers Last Week" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Compared to the previous week (19-23 July 2020), where there were 15,153 passengers and 256 flights, there was a growth of 17% for the number of passengers and 8 percent for domestic routes served. Give that in June there were only 17,861 passengers in total, this month is growing very well... "For the movement of passengers on the domestic route, slowly but surely it has shown good growth. As of July 30, we have served 73,875 passengers, with a daily average of 2,463 passengers," said Rahmat Adil Indrawan, General Manager of Commercial PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport.
"AirAsia to Reopen Three Domestic Routes" from The Jakarta Post: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Indonesia is scheduled to resume three of its round-trip domestic flights in August. The routes are Yogyakarta–Medan in North Sumatra, Surabaya in East Java–Denpasar in Bali and Jakarta–Semarang in Central Java... Tickets are available to book on the carrier’s website, app and Travel Service Center, with prices starting from Rp 1,179,000 (US$80.50) for the Yogyakarta–Medan route, Rp 321,000 for the Surabaya–Denpasar route and Rp 368,000 for the Jakarta–Semarang route. Prices include a free baggage allowance of up to 15 kg.
"Jokowi Supports Reopening of Bali [Domestic] Tourism" from The Jakarta Post: The coordinator of the presidential expert staff, Ari Dwipayana has said that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo fully supported Bali’s decision to reopen tourism for domestic tourists starting on Friday. He added that since the start of the pandemic, Jokowi had been paying special attention to Bali, whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism. "We must overcome this difficult challenge. Bali needs to rise with a new spirit, new hope to be a stronger and better Bali," Ari said.
"Bali Governor Asks Indonesian Government to Open for International Tourism" from The Bali Sun: The Governor of Bali has asked the Indonesian Government to remove its ban on foreign visitors so the island can move forward with reopening to international tourism. “We urge the government to repeal Ministry of Law and Human Rights Regulation No 11/2020 to facilitate the implementation of the third phase of reopening,” Governor Wayan Koster pleaded. Koster said he was convinced that Bali would be ready for the full reopening of tourism, an industry that accounts for more than 52% of the island’s economy.
The View from Outside
"In Indonesia, False Virus Cures Pushed by Those Who Should Know Better" from The New York Times: First, Indonesia’s agriculture minister promoted wearing a necklace containing a eucalyptus potion to cure the coronavirus. Not to be outdone, the governor of Bali, a popular resort island, pushed his own remedy: inhaling the steam from boiled arak, a traditional alcohol made from coconuts. So-called influencers and self-styled experts have also pushed their own quack cures and misinformation on Indonesian social media, including a widely spread rumor that popular infrared thermometer guns cause brain damage. As Indonesia steadily loses ground to the pandemic, the government has had difficulty delivering a consistent, science-based message about the coronavirus and the disease it causes, Covid-19.
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 fund 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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