Saturday, June 13
Immigration offices to re-open on Monday + Guv wants to continue requiring swab tests for all airport arrivals + Traveloka launches test ordering service + More medical staff getting infected + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Saturday, June 13. 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. But if you would like to support my work, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
New Infections by Regency
Overall Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 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 Total Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
The 30-day trend charts have been compiled using daily government data.
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.
The Big News
"Ngurah Rai and Denpasar Immigration Offices to Reopen On June 15" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Immigration Offices will reopened to offer services to Indonesian citizens for the manufacture of Indonesian passports. Services for Foreign Citizens include Transfer of Immigration Status Permits, Provision of Limited Stay Permits (ITAS), Provision of Immigration Certificates (SKIM), Registration for Limited Double Citizenship and Immigration Facilities. (Ed. note: As noted in yesterday’s newsletter, emergency stay permits & visa extensions are still valid and the state of emergency is still in effect per this announcement on the Immigration Ministry's Facebook Page. There is no new information on when the state of emergency might end. As soon as there is, the announcement will be carried here, so subscribe and you’ll know as soon as we do!)
"Koster Asks Central Government to Allow Bali to Continue Requiring PCR Test At Airport" from Antara (Indonesian): The Ministry of Transportation has said that passengers on domestic flights are not required to present proof of negative PCR (swab) tests, but only proof of a negative Rapid Test... "As a world tourist destination, Bali needs to be made a model of applying higher health standards to make Bali a healthy and quality tourism destination, and internationally competitive," said Chief of Bali's Covid-19 Task Force, Dewa Made Indra.
"Traveloka Launches Covid-19 Test Ordering Service" from Antara (Indonesian): Traveloka, in cooperation with a number of health service providers, namely Prodia, Smart Clinic, and Biotest, to bring the Covid-19 Test service on its platform. The Covid-19 Test Service, which includes the PCR (swab) and Rapid Test services, can be accessed through the Traveloka Xperience in the Travel Essentials product category. This service is available for users in 44 cities and districts in Indonesia through the Traveloka application, website, and mobile web, and began rolling out in stages on June 10. Test services are priced from Rp280,000 to Rp2. 500,000, depending on the type and variety of additional health services selected by the user.
Other Headlines
"93 Medical Workers At Sanglah Hospital Take Swab Tests" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): As many as 93 medical staff at Sanglah Hospital suddenly took swab tests after a patient who was about to be operated on was positive for Covid-19. "The results have not yet come out. And all who have been swabbed are currently isolated in the isolation room or in hotels for 10 days," said Public Relations officer Dewa Ketut Krisna.
"Two Doctors and Five Nurses from Ganesha Celuk Hospital In Gianyar Positive for Covid-19" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): After a doctor at Ganesha Celuk Hospital was declared exposed to Covid-19, there is now another doctor exposed to Covid-19. In fact, the latest data, there are a total of 5 nurses who were exposed. In light of the large number of health workers exposed to Covid, the Task Force says that they have called for the director of Ganesha Hospital to sterilize the entire ER unit and second floor immediately.
"Bali Hot Spring Water Park Toya Devasya to Reopen Next Week Despite Prohibition Under Gubernatorial Instruction" from Coconuts: A popular hot spring water park in Bangli regency’s Kintamani district announced plans to reopen next Monday, despite officials saying that tourist attractions across Bali are still prohibited from doing so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Toya Devasya, a water park overlooking Lake Batur and known for its natural hot springs, announced their reopening — scheduled for June 15 — in a number of posts uploaded to Instagram, with the latest put up just yesterday... Officials from Bangli regency earlier today said they had been trying to coordinate with Toya Devasya to stop them from reopening the resort, which has been temporarily closed along with other tourist attractions across Bali since late March to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"North Lombok's Three Gili Islands Will Reopen Soon" from The Seminyak Times: "The NTB province will make the three island tourist destinations a pilot opening with the implementation the Covid-19 preventive health protocols," NTB Tourism Department Head, H Lalu Moh Faozal said. Faozal explained that the NTB provincial government has coordinated with the North Lombok regency government to guarantee the movement of tourists coming to the three islands.
"Jembrana to Require All Foreign Traders to Bring Rapid Test Results" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Given Jembrana's position very close to Java and a supplier of various basic needs, the local government will require that traders from outside Jembrana who sell in local markets will be required to bring negative rapid test results... If an outside trader is found to not have a health certificate based on a rapid test, Jembrana Regent I Putu Artha requests that each head of the market direct the trader to the nearest health center. "This is in the common interest and prevents the surge that is infected. Cases of local transmission are very potential to occur in public places such as traditional markets. If there are traders who refuse to be in Rapid, are not allowed to sell," he said.
"Passenger Numbers Surge As Travel Restrictions Ease" from The Jakarta Post: Recently-issued Transportation Ministry circular letter no. 13/2020 allows for an increase in passenger numbers per flight to 70% of an aircraft’s capacity, up from the previous 50%. The new regulation came into force on June 8 and on June 10 the number of passengers in AP II’s 19 airports doubled to 14,700 passengers, from an average of 7,000 passengers on June 8 and June 9... To prevent crowding at the airports, AP II is also planning to launch a mobile application called Travelation to allow passengers to upload the required health documents to board and simplify the checking process.
"366 Migrant Workers Arrive At Benoa Harbor" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Indonesian citizens who work as crew members aboard Holland America's MV Eurodam Cruise Ship were accepted by Bali's Covid-19 Task Force. The crew has been declared healthy and were equipped with Rapid Tests and Swab Tests with negative results from the company. Nevertheless, Bali's Tas Force carried out health checks, and afterwards all PMI were taken to the Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel, Sanur Kaja Village, South Denpasar Sub-district, Bali to undergo a quarantine period.
Non-Covid News of Note
"Ferry Misses Dock, Runs Aground At Padangbai Port, 60 Passengers Rescued" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Late on Friday, the KMP Darma Rucitra III struck ground near the docks at Padangbai Port's pier 2 and was tilted while carrying 10 large trucks, 3 medium trucks, 3 cars, 8 motorcycles, and 60 passengers. When the ship arrived at the pier, the ship was already experiencing a slope which is thought to have been caused by water entering via a leak in the hull. But just before it was able to complete docking, the engine failed, resulting in the hull touching the bottom. Passengers were removed by lifeboats around 10:00pm.
Resources
Important information for foreigners who are staying on the island, such as designated COVID-19 hospitals and emergency contact numbers, can be found by following this link.
The government has cancelled its visa-on-arrival process and rolled out enhanced entry requirements for people traveling to Indonesia; they have also granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
Local travel website Traveloka has a helpful page with a summary of what’s needed to travel to and within the country. You can also order a rapid test or swab (PCR) test via their platform: Link
The British Embassy in Jakarta has recently posted a great summary of the Indonesian government's travel restrictions on their Facebook page. You can read it here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are some of the best up-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is the global lobbying body for the aviation industry. Their Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) database feeds into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable list of flight restrictions around.
Revolver Maps' Travel Restrictions Database - This list pulls directly from IATA's Timatic database and arranges the countries in lists that are easier to navigate and creates share-able links for every country. NOTE: This is a third-party service and they warn that the updates to their system can be delayed by several hours for certain countries.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each country's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
Common abbreviations to be familiar with:
PMI: Indonesian migrant worker
PSBB: Policy of extreme social distancing. Officially restricts forms of transportation and prohibits certain types of business from operating. Requires any permitted businesses to enforce strict social distancing guidelines.
OTG: Possible cases, with no symptoms.
ODP: Suspected cases, being monitored. People with fever or respiratory symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Tracked and placed under out-patient observation.
PDP: Probable cases, under observation. People with acute respiratory illness with at least one symptom such as cough, sore throat, congestion, light or heavy pneumonia, and travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Usually placed under observation in an isolation ward at a designated hospital pending swab testing results.
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 will polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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