Saturday, August 22
Investigation of Jembrana Police officers in viral video taken over by Provincial Police + Tabanan hospital almost filled with new cases + Guv can't say when foreign tourists will return + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Saturday, August 22. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Saturday morning, along with each evening’s Covid-19 update. If you are already a subscriber, thank you! Please be sure to share it with others in the foreigner community on the island by clicking the button below.
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.* However, if you would like to support my work, please consider making a donation of US$5/month by becoming a contributing subscriber at the link above.
PUBLICATION REMINDER: I’m off on Sundays so there is no newsletter tomorrow. But the evening Covid-19 numbers wrap-up will go out as scheduled.
Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook (animation shows changes from 8:00am - 6:00pm)
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.
The Big News
"Case of Police Personnel Allegedly Extorting Japanese Foreigner Delegated to the Bali Police" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Cases of alleged extortion committed by police in Jembrana against Japanese foreigners are still being investigated internally by the police. The two individuals are currently undergoing examination. For investigation by Propam, the Jembrana Police Headquarters transferred the case to the Bali Police. Jembrana Police Chief, AKBP Ketut Gede Adi Wibawa explained that the two individuals would be questioned for further information at the Bali Police... AKBP Adi Bawa also said that the person had also admitted that he had indeed done what he had done. Thus, if a violation is found during an examination, the police officer will be subject to a code of ethics trial.
"Bed Capacity at 2 Covid-19 Reference Hospitals in Tabanan Almost Full" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Nyitdah Hospital, Kediri District, currently it is still recruiting medical personnel and then adding more beds. Meanwhile, at the UPTD Nyitdah Hospital the capacity is 26 beds and 23 beds are already filled , meaning that there are still 3 beds left. "Ideally, one patient bed will be handled by four medical personnel (nurses). If an additional bed is done at this time it is still not possible due to a shortage of medical personnel. The design for additional beds already exists but is waiting for the medical personnel recruitment process to be completed first," explained Dr. Wisma Berata, Director of UPTD Nyitdah Hospital. Asked about if the availability of beds is full, Wisma Berata said that for now only patients with confirmed symptoms or requiring medical treatment will be hospitalized.
"Governor of Bali Unable to Confirm When Bali Will Open Tourism for Foreigners" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): "Of course we cannot say for sure at this time because there is still the Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation No.11 of 2020 concerning the temporary prohibition of foreigners visiting Indonesian territory," said Governor Wayan Koster after attending the Coordination Meeting Ministerial level for the Economy in Nusa Dua. When asked about the new Central Government that will open the door for foreign tourists to Indonesia in early December, according to him, this is not the purview of the Bali Provincial Government.
>> Classifieds <<
If you’re reading this newsletter then you care about Bali and what happens here. If you’ve got a product or message that you want other people on the island who are like you to know about, you can place a classified ad in this space to spread the word. Click here to learn more.
Other Headlines
"Operating Hours of Traditional Markets in Tabanan Are Still Limited" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Many traders in the traditional markets of Tabanan Regency hope that their operating hours can be returned to what they were before COVID-19. The Regency Government of Tabanan has not been able to meet these demands and is not planning to normalize traditional market opening hours in the near future because of the continued increase of COVID-19 cases in the Regency... The government's reluctance is because there are still new cases every day in Tabanan, and it is feared that traditional markets will become new clusters of the spread of COVID-19. For this reason, he hopes that traders and the public will maintain a strict health protocol. "We limit the operating hours of traditional markets in Tabanan as an effort to prevent the spread of local transmission of COVID-19 in Tabanan. Moreover, the new cluster of COVID-19 spreads is very vulnerable to occur in traditional markets," said Tabanan Regent Ni Putu Eka Wiryastuti.
"Foreign Donors Donate 102 Food Packages in Ubud" from Bali Express (Indonesian): A foreign donor, Dobro Bali Foundation, donated 102 food packages in Banjar Nagi, Petulu Village, Ubud District, Gianyar. The basic commodities donated consisted of 5 kilograms of rice, 1 egg crate, and cooking oil... The activity coordinator, Sergio Zani, explained that his party had conducted a survey to the location first. Banjar Nagi was chosen because some Banjar Nagi residents are engaged in the tourism sector. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has left many unemployed. So that this condition inspires foreign donors to donate. (Ed Note: There are many foreigners engaged in efforts to provide food assistance to the local community, but they are very rarely given any attention in local media. If you have the means, please click here to check our list of projects to find one to support.)
"Regent of Buleleng Discusses Creating Lovina District, Will Focus on Tourism" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): A new proposal would see a number of villages in Buleleng combined to form a new sub-district called Lovina District. This district will focus on being laid out for tourist areas. So far, Lovina is actually organized as an integrated tourism area. This tourist area includes several villages. They are Pemaron Village, Tukadmungga Village, Anturan Village, and Kalibukbuk Village in Buleleng District. Selat Village and Kayuputih Village in Sukasada District. As well as Kaliasem Village and Temukus Village in Banjar District. If Lovina Subdistrict is really formed, later Buleleng District will focus as an urban area. The villages in the Buleleng District area will also be focused on agricultural development.
"Success of Bali Revival 2020 Puts Bali in the Spotlight" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): After the successful implementation of the Bali Revival 2020 music concert, the organizing committee is meeting to discuss evaluations and criticisms and suggestions for the next event to be more perfect. Head of Focus Production and also the initiator of Bali Revival 2020, Yos Darmawan, said that in general the concert went well and was successful, but it was also necessary to evaluate the small things that needed attention. "How to regulate the audience's attendance to be on time, manage the discipline of the audience, and regulate the circulation of the artists are important in the evaluation," he explained... With the successful implementation of the Bali Revival 2020, in the future he also has plans to hold a larger, similar event. However, there is a constraint on the funds that must be spent so much, seeing that the income and expenditure are not comparable. "We need support from sponsors, because if there is no sponsor due to limited capacity, people will stop by themselves," he explained.
"Tanah Lot Starting to be Crowded; There is No Discount Plan Yet" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Since the Tanah Lot tourist destination (DTW) was reopened the number of daily visits continues to grow, with an average of 500 people per day. As of August 19, attendance has reached 14,922 people, with 14,333 domestic tourists and 589 foreign tourists... Tanah Lot management had not planned to reduce ticket prices or provide visitor discounts, as has been done by several tourism objects in Bali. This is because the ticket price has been regulated in a decree by the General Chairman of the Tanah Lot Management Agency.
"Even Though it Hasn't Launched Yet, The Bloom Garden is Crowded with Visitors" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Bloom Garden tourist attraction in Banjar Batusesa, Candikuning Village, Baturiti District, Tabanan, has yet to be launched. However, thousands of tourists have visited this tourist location. The Operations Manager of DTW Ulun Danu Beratan I Wayan Mustika explained, during the Corona pandemic, The Bloom Garden became a vacation destination even though currently the tourist spot in the form of a variety of flower gardens has not been launched. "The plan was launched in July 2020, but it was postponed," said Wayan Mustika. He said that visits per day to The Bloom Garden could reach 1,000 people. Tourists visiting are predominantly young people who like to take selfies, because there are a number of selfie spot spots.
"Daily Domestic Passenger Volume at Ngurah Rai Airport Crosses 4,000 People" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The number of passenger movements in the domestic arrival terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali for the period 1 to 19 August 2020 reached 49,391 people. "On 19 (August), the highest passenger movement compared to previous days at the domestic arrival terminal reached 4,056 passengers," said Andanina Megasari, Communication and Legal Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali. Previously, in the period from 14 to 16 August 2020 domestic arrivals per day reached an average of 3,000 passengers. The most favorite or dominant domestic flight routes in that period were still Jakarta-Denpasar and Surabaya-Denpasar.
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.
Our standards
We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I try to polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.