Saturday, October 17
Medical personnel death toll rising as 9 die so far this month + Tabanan & Denpasar announce 800 health regulation fines + Demonstrators in Bali meet with lawmakers, while Jakarta cracks down + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Saturday, October 17. 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, trend charts, and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers in our evening update.
The Big News
"136 Indonesian Doctors Have Died of COVID-19: IDI" from The Jakarta Post: A total of 136 doctors in the country have died of COVID-19 after four doctors succumbed to the respiratory disease this week, the Indonesian Doctor Association (IDI) has said. “There are nine doctors who died of the disease during the first two weeks of October,” IDI mitigation team deputy head Ari Kusuma Januarto said in a statement on Thursday. The deceased doctors consisted of 71 general practitioners, 63 specialists and two resident physicians from 18 provinces and 66 cities and regencies, he said.
"It Has Been 39 Days, This is the Total Money for Mask Inspections in Tabanan" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The head of the Tabanan Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP), I Wayan Sarba, said that since the Perbup was enacted, his party and the joint team (Satpol PP, TNI and police) have carried out disciplinary checks through Friday and recorded 388 violations with details:
As many as 38 people did not wear masks when doing activities outside the home. Sanctions in the form of a fine of IDR 100,000 per person
A total of 349 people brought masks but did not use or did not wear them properly. The sanction is in the form of guidance
One place of business without preparing a prokes. The penalty is IDR 1 million.
(Ed. Note: Denpasar’s city government announced yesterday that their patrols have netted 425 violators so far. The media continues to be filled with reports of health protocol enforcement actions every day. Pressure is not letting up in this area. Wear your mask.)
"Again, Students Reject the Omnibus Law During Demonstration at Bali DPRD" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The demonstration against the Omnibus Law continues to roll. In Bali, hundreds of students from various organizations such as PMKRI, GMNI, HMI, GMKI, Walhi, LMND rallied in front of the Bali DPRD Office, Renon, Friday (16/10/2020) afternoon, demanding to cancel the Omnibus Law which is accused of causing harm to society... The demonstrators finally met the Deputy Chairperson of the Bali DPRD III, Tjok Gde Asmara Putra Sukawati, and the chairman of Commission IV, I Gusti Putu Budiarta. "I promise to immediately fight for the aspirations of my brothers, both through the Bali DPRD and the Bali DPRD Democratic Party Faction. Together with our siblings, we are fighting for community rights. We accept your younger siblings' aspirations and forward it to the Indonesian Parliament,” promised Tjok Gde Asmara.
(Ed. Note: More detailed coverage of the protest, which was orderly and peaceful, can be found here. Organizers have given Governor Koster a week to declare opposition to the bill or they will organize another protest. A small counter demonstration was held in Bangli to decry “anarchist” protesters, though the participants did not express support for the jobs law. Meanwhile, 8,000 security personnel were deployed in Jakarta yesterday to surround a protest held near the legislature, while the government revealed WhatsApp chats among KAMI activists who had been arrested earlier in the week that allegedly showed them discussing ways to inspire riots “like 1998.”)
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Other Headlines
"Tabanan Prepares Isolation Places for Covid-19 Patients Without Symptoms" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Tabanan's Regency Government will prepare a special place for patients with mild or no symptoms. Head of the Tabanan Health Service, Dr. Nyoman Suratmika, said this integrated isolation had been prepared since Monday (12/10) totaling 100 beds. "The isolation place being prepared is one of the hotels in the city of Denpasar," he said... Going forward, if there are Tabanan residents who are confirmed positive without symptoms or mild symptoms, they will be isolated at the hotel. To support those who are currently undergoing isolation, four health workers have also been prepared at the independent quarantine facility, taking turns per shift of two people. Their job is to monitor and care for Tabanan residents who are undergoing isolation.
(Ed. Note: All regencies have now arraigned for asymptomatic people to undergo mandatory quarantine once they are diagnosed. If you are going in for a test be sure to bring anything you might want to have with you during a 10-14 day stay at a 2- or 3-star hotel.)
"Bali Tourism Industry Concerned with Australia’s Plan to Restrict Overseas Travel Until Late 2021" from Coconuts: The increasing likelihood that Australia’s borders will remain closed for international travel until late next year appears to have added another layer of concerns among tourism players in Bali, many of whom had been counting on the return of foreign travelers to revive their businesses. Last week, the country’s treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said that while domestic travel might resume by the end of 2020, international travel would not be possible until there’s a vaccine. “Of course [this latest update] is a great concern, this potentially poses a threat to tourism in Bali,” I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, who is deputy chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) in Bali, said.
"Bali is Threatened by an Electricity Crisis; Parta Asks Not to Keep Coal Fired Power Plants" from Radar Bali(Indonesian): Bali is said to be experiencing an electricity crisis, because there is a threat to Bali's electricity deficit starting in 2021. This was revealed by a member of Commission VI DPR RI from the PDI-P faction I Nyoman Parta. However, for the solution to this electricity supply, Parta asks not to rely on coal-fired power plants that are not environmentally friendly... The PDIP politician said that the electricity reserves in Bali in 2021 are no longer ideal because they are below 30%, which is around 28%. In 2023, the electricity reserve is only 13% left. "This will happen if there is no additional electricity supply for Bali," he said. Regarding this condition, PLN is asked to plan the project target for the 500 kV (kilovolt) Java Bali Connection (JBC) transmission network or known as "Bali crossing" to be accelerated so that it can operate in 2024. This is because the power cable is expected to carry 1,600 MW of electricity from Java. to strengthen the electricity supply in Bali.
"Second Airport in North Bali Projected for 2023 Despite Land Disagreement" from The Bali Sun: Previously, the Bali Governor planned to build a new airport in the Kubutambahan area but the move was rejected by the people there. The Governor decided to move the project to Sumberklampok Village in Buleleng, but again locals and village officials are concerned they will lose all their farming land. Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has targeted that the airport will still be finished by 2023. “We plan to build the second airport in the north of Bali and it should be started to operate by 2023” Budi Karya said... The Head of Bali's Transportation Agency, I Gede Wayan Samsi, said that he has been waiting for the central government's go-ahead for the project. If the village of Sumberklampok keeps rejecting this project, it will once again be moved to another area. “We have no clue; we’re still waiting,” said Samsi. “We have to discuss this to the people in that area, and this project needs to be started by 2021 whatever it takes.”
"Bali Jani II Festival of Arts to be Held Virtually Starting at the End of October" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The Bali Provincial Government through the Bali Provincial Culture Office remains committed to holding the Bali Jani Art Festival (FSBJ) II which will take place from 31 October to 7 November 2020. This festival is held as a cultural appreciation for the advancement of modern, contemporary and innovative arts. Head of the Bali Provincial Culture Office, Prof. Dr. I Wayan 'Kun' Adnyana recently revealed that this year's event is somewhat different from the previous year because it is presented virtually on the youtube channel of the Bali Provincial Culture Office. 26 Modern and Contemporary Art Communities will be performing. This festival is also interpreted by the Bali Megarupa Exhibition located at the ARMA Museum, Ubud, Gianyar from October 28 to November 10, 2020.
"BMKG Urges Calm Following Reports of Potential Megathrust Earthquake in Bali" from Coconuts: The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has urged the public not to panic following reports of the potential of a megathrust earthquake hitting southern Bali that has caused some hubbub lately. “Our suggestion from BMKG is that the public should not panic in responding to those reports and don’t be easily swayed by rumors or hoaxes that have not been confirmed,” Ikhsan, who heads the Geophysics Center in Denpasar, said yesterday. Murmurs about a potential 8.7-magnitude earthquake hitting Bali have made national headlines this past week, after the possibility was mentioned by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and was based on a study published by the National Earthquake Research Center (Pusgen) in 2017.
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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