Saturday, November 28
Badung schools "ready" to reopen, but will wait for govt to decide + Indonesia sets new infection, death records again + Kuta & Legian beaches to get free wifi, tsunami shelters + more!
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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
"Badung Disdikpora Readies Face-to-Face Learning Options" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): According to I Made Mandi, Acting Head of the Badung Regency Education, Youth and Sports Agency (Disdikpora), in principle schools in Badung are ready to carry out face-to-face learning. In terms of health protocol facilities (prokes) in the school environment, it is considered adequate. However, he continued, of course it must get permission from the local government. The reason is, the implementation of face-to-face learning must pay attention to the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. If it has gradually decreased, it is possible that face-to-face learning can be carried out. On the other hand, if cases continue to increase, face-to-face learning may not be possible. "Hence, we will coordinate further with the Covid-19 Task Force," he explained.
"4 Police in Jembrana are Positive Covid-19" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Of the 5 additional new cases in Jembrana, 4 were police officers who were detected positive for Covid-19 from the mass swab test among ASN and Polri in Jembrana. Meanwhile, another person, an officer of the Voting Committee Group (KPPS), was detected by a reactive rapid test during the KPPS mass rapid test for the 2020 Jembrana Pilkada... With the addition of 5 new cases, the cumulative positive Covid-19 in Jembrana has now reached 596 cases. Meanwhile, the cumulative number of patients who have successfully recovered is 483 people. Then 12 people died, and 99 other people were still being treated. Of the 99 positive Covid-19 patients who are still being treated, in addition to 37 people being treated at the State Hospital, there are 37 people being treated at 4 Puskesmas, 2 people being treated at the hospital in Denpasar, and 23 people are still undergoing independent isolation treatment.
"Indonesia Daily Covid Deaths, Confirmed Cases Hit New Record" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia reported the highest single-day rise of both coronavirus-related deaths and newly confirmed cases on Friday as the surge continued in line with improving testing capacity. The country has recorded 5,828 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 522,581, according to the latest data from the Health Ministry. The previous high was 5,534 cases reported two days ago. Its weekly average continued to set a new record for the fifth consecutive day, currently standing at 4,896 cases. The death toll rose by 169 for a total of 16,521, also beating the previous daily record of 160 Covid deaths on September 22... Nearly 39,500 people have undergone diagnostic tests for coronavirus across the country in the 24-hour period as testing capacity increasing significantly in the last few weeks. More provinces have met the World Health Organization requirement to test at least 1,000 people per 1 million population per week. According to the government data, at least 3.7 million people have undergone coronavirus testing since the outbreak began.
(Ed. Note: Neither the central nor provincial governments regularly make local testing numbers available. Bali has added a large amount of testing capacity over the last 6 weeks - including a new facility in Buleleng that has just been certified - which has enabled Regency governments to undertake mass swab testing programs to screen their first responders and public sector workers, but without daily testing totals it is impossible to ascertain things like positivity levels, how many infected people are asymptomatic, what portion of those infected require hospitalization, etc. What is clear, however, is that the rise in testing capacity is resulting in more cases being identified, which has been pushing the island’s daily & 7-day case rates higher since the start of the month.)
>> 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
"Koster Calls Covid-19 Cases in Bali Decreasing, Task Force Data Increases" from Radar Bali (Indonesia): In the past week, the positive number of Covid 19 in Bali has not decreased. The average number is still around 60-100 positive people per day. [The current 7-day average is 96 cases per day. - Ed.] On the other hand, the Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, said that day by day, the rate of transmission shows a decreasing trend. This was conveyed when sharing experiences with the Ambassador (Ambassador) Austria to Indonesia Johannes Peterlik. "We are really working hard to reduce the daily infection rate, which is now steadily decreasing. The cure rate is also at 91%, plus a controlled mortality rate," said Koster.
"AstraZeneca Says Its Vaccine Needs 'Additional Study'" from AFP: The head of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said on Thursday further research was needed on its Covid-19 vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it offers, but the additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe. AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced on Monday that it was seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed an average 70% effectiveness. That rate jumped to 90% when an initial half-dose then a full dose was given, similar to that in rival vaccines in development by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna... The head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, Andrew Pollard, said this week that further evidence will be available next month, but the result was still "highly significant". "Now that we've found what looks like a better efficacy, we have to validate this, so we need to do an additional study," AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot told Bloomberg.
"Seminyak Legian and Kuta Beach Areas Will Be Equipped with Free Wi-Fi" from Antara (Indonesian): The Government of Badung Regency, Bali, will install an internet or Wi-Fi network that can be accessed free of charge in the Seminyak, Legian and Kuta (Samigita) Beach areas related to the arrangements that will be carried out in the tourism area. "In order to support the arrangement of Seminyak, Legian and Kuta beaches, we will provide support by installing free Wi-Fi in the area of ??each beach," said the Head of the Badung Communication and Information Office, IGN Jaya Saputra... In addition, according to the proposal of the traditional village, the Seminyak, Legian and Kuta Beach areas will also build a monumental statue which will become an icon of each beach. The statue will be built on a 19 meter high pedestal which will also function as a tsunami shelter.
"Red Cross Blood Stocks Run Low As Donations Dry Up" from Antara: The stocks of blood available with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) have depleted 30%-50% due to a decline in blood donations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an official. The PMI currently has sufficient blood to last just two days compared to four days worth of blood before the COVID-19 pandemic, chief of PMI's blood donor unit, Linda Lukitari Waseso, said... A lack of blood donations has been recorded in all parts of the country, she revealed. The blood needs of a region depend on the size of its population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of blood donors in a region should be at least 20% of its population. Hence, PMI has urged the entire Indonesian nation to donate blood to help patients in dire need of routine blood transfusions, Waseso stated. She also said citizens need not be afraid of contracting a coronavirus infection while donating blood at PMI's blood donor units across Indonesia.
"Government to Commence Development of Health Tourism in Bali: Thohir" from Antara: State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir highlighted the government's plan to begin the development of health tourism in the resort island of Bali. Thohir drew attention to the positive response from Japanese company Mitsui Healthcare that had invested in international hospitals in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. "We have 49 hectares of land in Bali, and we want to upgrade this into a tourism facility. We have received a positive response from Japanese firm Mitsui Healthcare that has its stake in several hospitals in Southeast Asia," Thohir remarked. Thohir noted that the plan to build the world-class hospital in Bali will not use foreign brands. "I have told Mitsui, I did not want to use the Singapore or Malaysia brand. We want to use our own name, but still world class," the minister said.
"Indonesia’s 5 New Bali: Ministry Ready to Develop Infrastructure" from Indonesia Expat: Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi has emphasised that his party is ready to support the recovery of the tourism sector through the development of transportation infrastructure. His aim is to create connectivity to high priority tourist destinations, being called the “5 new Bali”; Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Magelang, Mandalika in Lombok, Bunaken in Sulawesi, and Bangka Belitung... At the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) for Tourism and the Economy, Budi said that to support the construction of the five new Balis, his team is ready to invest in various transportation infrastructures, such as airports or ports. “It’s not even limited to development but also the connectivity between cities and tourism objects, as well as between airports and cities,” he said.
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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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.
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