Saturday, November 21
Country sets new 7-day avg infection record + Edu Minister says provinces can reopen schools in Jan if they want + Buleleng & Jembrana declared Yellow Zones, 50% of Denpasar is in Green Zone + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Saturday, November 21. 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.
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PUBLICATION REMINDER: I’m off tomorrow, so there will be no newsletter in the morning. However, the evening Covid-19 update will publish as normal; and being Sunday, it will include a wrap-up of the week’s numbers and put them in context with previous weeks.
Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
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 national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Education Ministry Says Schools Across Indonesia Allowed to Reopen in January" from Coconuts: Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim today announced that schools across Indonesia can reopen and conduct face-to-face learning starting January, provided that they fulfill the requirements and are authorized by their respective regional governments. “The most important message here is that face-to-face learning is not school returning to normal. This is outside of normal [circumstances] because it will be at half-capacity and without any crowded activity whatsoever,” Nadiem said. the final decision will still be on the hands of the regional governments, through a decision-making process that should involve not only regional officials, but also parents, Nadiem said. “Face-to-face learning is allowed, not required,” the minister said.
"Indonesia Coronavirus Cases Head into New Peak" from The Jakarta Globe: The seven-day average of newly coronavirus infections hit a new high on Thursday as Indonesia is heading into a second peak of the outbreak. The country has been averaging 4,461 cases in the past week, surpassing the previous high of 4,379 on Sept. 26. A number of key hotspots like Jakarta, East Java, Central Java and Riau have seen resurgence in newly cases after reporting a steady decline two weeks ago.
"Jembrana Enters the Yellow Zone" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Covid-19 handling performance in Jembrana is getting better after recording a decline from the orange zone to the yellow zone. This means that the development of positive cases of Covid-19 in Jembrana Regency is getting better, categorized as areas with a low risk zone for covid-19 transmission by the central Covid-19 Handling Task Force. The cumulative number of positive case records for Covid-19 has now reached 497 people. Meanwhile, patients' recovery rate was classified as high; now 464 people have recovered or reached 93%.
(Ed. Note: Buleleng announced on Thursday that it had reentered Yellow Zone status, making for 2 Regencies in Bali that have achieved this designation in as many days. “Yellow” is the second-lowest designation and is based on the daily average new infection rate over the previous 14 days. A region must have no recorded infections for 2 weeks for it to achieve Green Zone status. If infection numbers rise and the daily average increases beyond a level that is deemed safe, the designation can go back up, as happened last month in Buleleng when their Yellow status was reverted back to Orange after the post-holiday rise in cases... Jembrana’s 7-day average of daily new cases is currently at 2, and has ben below 5 since the start of the month. Buleleng’s 7-day average is at 3 and has also been below 5 since November 1. Bali’s overall 7-day average of daily new cases currently sits at 69 and has been hovering close to 70 for about a week. You can check the daily & 7-day infection rates for each Regency by checking their individual Covid-19 Task Force pages, which we link to each night in our Covid-19 update, or you can see them gathered on our weekly summary page that is updated every Sunday here.)
>> Classifieds <<
Community is so important- especially in times like these. If you’re looking to connect with the community of dedicated, engaged foreigners in Bali who’ve stayed during this pandemic, you can reach them with a classified ad in this space. Check out this page to find out how.
Other Headlines
"Election Holiday on 9th December Applies Nationwide" from Indonesia Expat: The General Election Commission (KPU) has confirmed that the election day for the 2020 Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) on Wednesday 9th December 2020 is a national holiday that applies nationwide. The simultaneous Regional Head Elections 2020 will be held on 9th December, including the largest number of regions and will be the first election during the pandemic. There will be 270 elections in one day with a total of 100,359,152 voters in 309 districts or cities involved in the regional election.
"With 5 Villages / Sub-Districts Still in Orange Zone, Denpasar's Covid-19 Task Force Reminds People to Follow Prokes" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Based on the map of the distribution of the Covid-19 risk zone in Denpasar City as of November 15, 2020, as many as 24 villages / sub-districts have green zone status. 14 villages / wards have the status of the yellow zone and 5 villages / wards have the status of the orange zone. In fact, especially for Ubung Kaja Village, it is in the orange zone for quite a long time. Overall, Denpsasr maintains Orange Zone status.
"Three Months of Mask Fines Collected Rp. 48.1 million" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): For more than three months of health protocol raids (prokes) from 7 September to 19 November 2020, the Yustisi Team of Denpasar City has pocketed as much as Rp. 48,100,000 from prokes offenders. This number was obtained from 481 offenders who were caught without wearing masks during the raids. The total number of offenders in Denpasar was 866. However, as many as 481 people were fined, 374 were given guidance, and 24 offenders were brought to trial for minor crimes.
"Abiansemal Puskesmas Mobilizes 50 People for Vaccination Simulation" from Antara (Indonesian): Puskesmas Abiansemal I, Blahkiuh Village, Badung Regency, Bali, mobilized 50 people, both health workers and non-health workers, in a simulation of giving the COVID-19 vaccine. "There are also about 50 health workers (who will be on duty later), consisting of doctors, nurses, midwives, and non-health workers," said Head of UPT Puskesmas Abiansemal I, Blahkiuh Village, Dr. I Nyoman Rai Sukadani... Regarding parties who are prioritized for the provision of the COVID-19 vaccine, he said he was still waiting for the Ministry of Health's direction. "Later there will be further information from the Ministry of Health," he said. The procedure for administering the COVID-19 vaccine could be confirmed after the simulation was carried out, while the schedule for receiving the vaccine from the center had not yet been received.
"Having Started 3M, Karangasem Still Needs PCR Tools" from Bali Express (Indonesian): To prevent the transmission of Covid-19 in Karangasem, the Covid-19 Task Force has intensified the 3M campaign (wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining distance). However, the Polimirase Chain Reaction (PCR) tool is still needed. "There must be other supporting tools in the operation of the PCR machine," he said. The central party has not been able to ascertain where the supporting tools will be provided, whether the provincial, regency, or central government. "But we have increased the unexpected spending (BTT) to anticipate if the supporting tools must be prepared by the local government," Secretary of Karangasem's Covid-19 Task Force, I Ketut Sedana Merta, explained.
"Garbage to TPA Sarbagita Suwung Reaches 1,150 Tons per Day, Bali Plans to Build PSEL" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Provincial Government of Bali plans to build a Waste Processing to Electric Energy (PSEL). This PSEL is a program to accelerate the revitalization of waste at the Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan (Sarbagita) Regional Final Processing Sites (TPA) in Suwung. The Regional Secretary (Sekda) of the Province of Bali , Dewa Made Indra, said that this effort is at the same time finding a solution for the volume of waste entering the Sarbagita Regional TPA of ± 1,150 tons / day.
"Jakarta Passes New COVID-19 Regulation Aimed At Punishing Health Protocol Violators" from Coconuts: Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has signed the Regional Regulation (Perda) on COVID-19 mitigation, through which those who refuse COVID-19 vaccination, when it becomes available, can be fined up to IDR5 million (US$354). The Perda broadly outlines punishments for health protocol violations in the capital, such as an IDR5 million fine for those who refuse mandatory swab and/or rapid testing, and a fine of up to IDR7.5 million for anyone who claims the bodies of deceased COVID-19 patients by force, which has been a problem in Indonesia.
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.
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