Saturday, June 27
Kuta bar raided, closed for hosting unauthorized party + 900 people tested in Banjar Bersih & 286 tested at Padangsambian Market, adding to 3,000 tested in Badung this week + New PCR lab almost online
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Saturday, June 27. 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!
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
"Bali Authorities Order Temporary Closure of Kuta Bar Following Yet Another Crowded Party" from Coconuts: Last night, dozens of guests at Le Giant appeared to have partied as if there was no coronavirus; standing close to one another with few to no masks in sight as music blared in the background... Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers in Badung raided Le Giant Pool & Bar last night and instructed visitors to vacate the premises, after receiving a tip from local residents. “We asked them to close temporarily from today onwards, until it is officially permitted by the government,” Head of Satpol PP Badung, I Gusti Agung Kerta Suryanegara, told Coconuts Bali.
"After Being Exposed to Kumbasari Cluster, Mass Rapid Testing in Darmasaba" from Bali Express (Indonesian): The Badung Regency Health Office (Diskes) held a mass rapid test for 900 people in Tegal Darmasaba village, Banjar Bersih, Darmasaba Village, Abiansemal District, Badung, Friday. The testng was conducted after contact tracing from the Kumbasari Market cluster in Denpasar fouond that several people who had tested positive had addresses in the village... This latest mass testing comes as Diskes has been intensively conducting rapid tests. Even in the past week more than 3,000 people across 36 villages have been tested. Among them are residents of Ayunan, Jagapati, Dalung, Tibubeneng, Badung District Police, and KPU.
"286 Padangsambian Market Traders Take a Rapid and Swab Test" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Plt. Head of Padangsambian Urban Village, Luh Sri Uma Saraswati, said that the rapid test and swab tests targeted 286 people after one trader in the local market tested positive co-19. Of the total number of traders tested there were 229 people taking the rapid test with 202 non-reactive results and 27 reactive people. The 27 reactive traders then took a swab test directly with 15 family members and 42 traders who were within a 10 meter radius of the trader who tested positive for Covid-19... "All traders who are declared reactive and take the test swab are required to carry out independent isolation while waiting for the results of the swab, as well as anticipatory measures as well as the market being closed for three days starting on June 26," he explained.
Other Headlines
"Construction of Swab-PCR Test Laboratory in RSBM Is 90% Complete" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Provincial Government of Bali is currently trying to add laboratories for testing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) swab samples. There are two laboratories being prepared, one of which is at the Bali Mandara Hospital (RSBM)... The Managing Director of RSBM, Gede Bagus Darmayasa said, that the progress of the planned laboratory development capable of testing 100 specimens has now reached 90%, just waiting to install the equipment. "Some supporting equipment has arrived. And just install it after this room has been built. This progress has reached 90 percent, just install the glasses," he explained.
The View from Outside
"Indonesia Passes 50,000 Coronavirus Cases As Government Allows Businesses to Reopen" from The AAP: The number of coronavirus infections in Indonesia has surpassed 50,000, an increase that is worrying experts at a time when the government is allowing businesses to resume operations amid increasing economic pressure... The spiking case numbers in the world’s fourth-most populous country align with the country’s increasing testing capacity, which have averaged close to the government’s daily target of 20,000 in the past week, said Achmad Yurianto, the spokesman for the National COVID-19 Task Force. But scepticism remains over the ability of the government to conduct enough tests to determine the true spread of the virus in the country nation, which is home to more than 270 million people living on thousands of islands.
Non-Covid News of Note
"Covid-19 Is An Opportunity to Develop New ‘Working Space’ Tourism Destinations" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, when talking about the problem of working from Bali, was reminded of the story of a French citizen who within a period of two years could visit Bali in quite a long period of time. It turned out that he was deliberately working from Bali, living in Bali to take care of his company with a small laptop capital, and a simple villa terrace in Ubud. "From this story, I think 'working from Bali' can be done. This opportunity can be developed as a new tourist destination in Bali, namely by developing an adequate 'working space' for tourists like this," he explained.
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.
The EU has launched a website to help travelers stay informed about how member states will be accelerating the reopening of their borders. Through the “EU Re-open” website, travelers can enter the name of the country they wish to visit and find out the rules that will apply after each place's coronavirus lockdown. Information on the EU Re-open website and app will continue to be updated in line with the developments of the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
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.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.