Saturday, May 16
Long lines at checkpoints on 1st day of Denpasar's PKM + Gov asks 3 more Regencies to adopt PKM like Denpasar (Badung says, "No, thank you") + 7 arrested for selling fake health certificates + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Saturday, May 16. 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:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died | Blue = In Treatment
Today's Regency Numbers
Total 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 hospital ("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
This week we shared details about some of the people and organizations who are fundraising and taking action to help local communities in Bali during this unprecedented economic crisis. Here are the five amazing projects that we featured:
Visit this link to see full details on all of the charitable projects that we documented last week, and please share it, as we'll add each new effort that we feature every weekday.
The Big News
"The Denpasar PKM Kicked Off Today" from The Seminyak Times: he first day of Denpasar Community Activity Restrictions, or PKM, started with a joint team monitoring a number of entrances to Denpasar city. On the first day, at least eight entrance roads to the city of Denpasar were monitored by a joint team consisting of the Transportation Agency, the TNI / Police, Pecalang, health services, as well as officers from other relevant agencies. Motorists were asked to show their identity cards and also a clear purpose for entering the city. If they did not have clear goals the officials were not reluctant to ask them to turn around... A Seminyak Times reporter went into Denpasar this morning to see what was happening and didn’t see any check points right from Seminyak to the centre of Denpasar and back again. Presumably the checkpoints will be moving around varying locations every day, or possibly just the main roads from other areas of Bali. Time will tell.
"Governor Wayan Koster Supports PKM In Denpasar, Asks 3 Other Areas to Implement the Same" from iNews (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster supports the Restriction of Community Activities (PKM) by the Denpasar City Government to reduce the spread of Covid-19 due to local transmission. Koster asked three other regions to follow the steps of Denpasar City Government... Three regions were encouraged to implement the PKM namely the Regencies of Buleleng, Bangli and Karangasem. In the three regions there was a significant increase in positive cases of Covid-19 due to local transmission.
"Seven Arrested In Fraudulent Health Letter Scheme" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): After an investigation, Bali police have arrested seven members of a conspiracy to make and sell false health certificates to people attempting to cross to Java at Gilimanuk Port... Jembrana Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner I Ketut Gede Adi Wibawa said that they were alerted to the ring by a tip about the existence of fake health certificates being sold to people looking to board the ferry. Each letter is valued at Rp 100,000 - Rp 300,000 thousand. "Because crossing service users need them, they were forced to buy them in order to cross. Even though the letter is fake," he said.
Other Headlines
"Large Crowds Sighted On First Official Day Of Restrictions In Denpasar" from Coconuts: The first official day of the Restrictions on People’s Activities (PKM) protocol in Denpasar appears to have produced a few hiccups, as photos circulating on social media show packed crowds queuing to meet the new requirements... Traffic jams seem inevitable in some areas, as vehicles are requested to pull up and present their identification and accompanying letter, which is now required. In addition, the requirement of an official statement, which must either be issued by an individual’s employer or their village's COVID-19 task force, appears to have also resulted in crowds and queues this morning.
"Badung Not Enforcing PKM" from Bali Express (Indonesian): The Regent of Badung, I Nyoman Giri Prasta, asserted that his administration has not implemented the Community Activity Restriction (PKM) like Denpasar City because Badung residents were considered to have consciously followed the government's appeals to wear masks and practice social distancing. "We in Badung Regency do not carry out PKM. PKM is Restricting Community Activities. We do not limit. If we are restricted, it means that we must bear all of them. So we don't carry out PKM," he said... Deputy Regent of Badung, I Ketut Suustom, added that he hoped this pandemic would end soon. In regards to PSBB, it also has not been proposed to the central government because the region has not yet met the requirements. "However, if that happens, and if we have to implement the PSBB, of course we must be ready," he said.
"Flights Resuming, 8 Airplanes Arrive At Ngurah Rai Airport" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The opening of flights at a number of airports in the country has signaled the return to service of a number of domestic airlines. Airport authority Angkasa Pura I noted that there were eight flights that arrived at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali that consisted of three types, namely 1 repatriation flight, 1 positioning flight and 6 regular flights... In addition to spread out seating to ensure social distancing, flight crew health checks are carried out before the flight in order to determine healthy conditions and flight worthiness. All aircraft before flying carried out disinfecting spraying, in an effort to ensure aircraft sterilization and cleanliness, an hand sanitizer is provided for guests or passengers when starting the check-in process.
"Three Back to School Schemes In Jakarta" from Indonesia Expat: The provincial government of DKI Jakarta has prepared three back to school schemes for the new school year 2020/2021 that will start on July 13. Head of Jakarta Education Office, Nahdiana, explained that the first scheme means that only part of the school will be open and all students will return to study at school. Then, the second option envisions only part of a school opening with just some students studying in the school. Meanwhile, the third option would mean having only a part of the school reopen with some students studying at home. According to Nahdiana, with each of these three alternatives schools must have enough sanitation facilities, including individual PPE and health protocol tools when students return to school. It also includes room sterilisation and change in a classroom arrangement.
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.
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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