September 28, 2021
Balinese hope local economy will improve + Ubud still empty + USA & Turkey are high risk says minister + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
NOTE: Daily new cases continue to fall in Bali, with the seven-day average returning to levels of mid-June and down over 90% from the peak of 1,420 on August 14. Yesterday’s four deaths were the lowest number of deaths in Bali since July 4. And in case you missed it, check out Sunday’s update for a summary of last week’s overall totals, including an update on the island’s vaccination program, with perspective on how they stack up against previous weeks.
The Big News
“Balinese Hope Local Economy Will Improve” from Benar News: Balinese are hoping that their businesses will begin to pick up after the government announced it may re-open Bali in October. Luhut Pandjaitan, the central government official in charge of Indonesia’s handling of the pandemic, said no date had been set for allowing foreign visitors to return. “Bali’s tourism has started to improve,” said I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association. Still, hotel occupancy rate is below 9%, Rai said. Nyoman Sukma Arida, a lecturer at Udayana University, said the island should change its focus to offer “high-quality tourism” to unite conservation, communities and sustainable travel. “The management of Bali’s tourism should be directed toward that aim and no longer be oriented to mass tourism,” Sukma said.
“Vaccination Target in Bali Increases to 3.4 Million” from Detik (Indonesian): The COVID-19 vaccination target in Bali was raised from 3 million people to 3.4 million people, an increase of 400,000 people. This target was raised after the Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, asked the central government to increase the target. "Initially, if the target was 70%, we got a vaccine allocation for 3 million people. I asked for the target to be increased to 3.4 million people and it has been approved," said Koster on Tuesday. According to Koster, the first dose of vaccinations have reached 97% and specifically for those who have a Bali identity card 87%. The second dose of vaccination has reached 75% and specifically for those with Bali ID cards is 70%.
“Minister Highlights USA and Turkey as High Risk” from Bali Post (Indonesian): The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Monday the government has tightened restrictions on the arrival of foreigners to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "We tighten restrictions on the arrival of foreigners from areas that we consider to have a high tendency or level 4," he said. "There are several countries, such as the United States and Turkey, which are also in the fairly high category," he said. Luhut also ensured that the 8-day quarantine process for foreign travelers was still being carried out. This is in accordance with the advice of epidemiologists.
Context: Neither the USA nor Turkey were among the nations listed as being priority targets (Indonesian) for the suggested reopening in October.
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Other Headlines
“Offer Options Apart From Pedulilindungi” from Antara: The House of Representatives' Speaker Puan Maharani highlighted the importance of the government providing other options to the public apart from the PeduliLindungi app. "Thus, providing other options apart from PeduliLindungi is important for the government to guarantee the rights of citizens," the House speaker said on Monday. Other protocols for citizens, such as presenting vaccine certificates and COVID-19 test results, must be implemented at the earliest, they said. "Every citizen, who has a sophisticated or less sophisticated smartphone, or even those who does not have a 'smartphone' must have the same rights to access public spaces and transportation," she said.
Context: See the related story below noting that for those with a NIK, Pedulilindungi is no longer required for travel by plane and train.
Vaccination Update
“Vaccination Coverage Makes Indonesia Optimistic to Overcome Covid-19” from Antara: Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment Jodi Mahardi said vaccination coverage in Indonesia lends optimism to Indonesians to overcome the COVID-19 phases. "Indonesia is listed among the ten countries with the most vaccination coverage in the world. In addition, the number of vaccinated people has exceeded the WHO target," Mahardi said on Monday. As of September 26, 86,460,685 people had received the first dose of vaccine, while 48,526,648 had been administered the second dose of injection, and 905,366 people had received a vaccination booster. Recipients of the first dose of the vaccine had reached 40% of the targeted 208,265,720 people, while the WHO recommends at least 10% of the total population to be vaccinated as of September.
Context: Be sure to check Bali Beat’s Sunday evening edition which tracks vaccine progression in Bali.
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Seven Indian Nationals Get Suspended Sentence for Violating Quarantine” from The Jakarta Globe: A court in Tangerang has found seven Indian nationals guilty of resisting Covid-19 quarantine requirement in Indonesia and handed them a five-month suspended sentence, a prosecutor confirmed on Sunday. The same sentence was handed to seven Indonesians for becoming accessories to the crime. “The trial on quarantine offences was concluded on Friday night and all 14 defendants were sentenced to five months’ imprisonment,” Tangerang prosecutor Dapot Dariarma said. “They are put on probation for 10 months and fined between IDR 10 million and IDR 25 million.” The Indian nationals arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on April 21 on a chartered Air Asia flight from Chennai.
More...
Nation: “Preparing Healthcare Workers, Volunteers Spike” from Antara
Nation: “5-10% of Returning Migrant Workers Covid Positive” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: “Bali Health Centers Asked to Serve Foreign Tourists” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: “Online Taxi Drivers Object to Odd/Even Rule” from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: “Badung Market Implements PeduliLindungi” from Republika (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Judiciary Team Nets Dozens of Prokes Violators” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“IDR 9.2 Trillion to Support Tourism in 2022” from Antara Bali (Indonesian): Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the government had reserved a budget of IDR 9.2 trillion to support the recovery of the tourism sector in 2022 from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The reserves for the recovery of the national tourism sector include allocations from central government spending of IDR 6.5 trillion and IDR 2.8 trillion through transfers to the regions. Sri Mulyani said that the IDR 9.2 trillion budget will be used to develop tourism and the creative economy from three aspects, namely accessibility, attractions and accessibility as well as from the promotion side and participation of private actors. Meanwhile, there is a budget of IDR 7.67 trillion for tourism recovery this year.
Context: To put the IDR 9.2 trillion figure in perspective, Indonesia’s budget allocation for tourism in 2018 was IDR 3.7 billion. The largest tourism budget ever was in 2016—for IDR 5.4 billion.
More...
Nation: “Minister Expects I Do Care to Revive Tourism” from Antara
Nation: “Lombok Export Coffee Center Encouraged to Expand” from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: “Superbike Postponed Until November” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: “Ministry Expects SSI Startups to Help Recover Tourism” from Antara
Education
“Schools Must Implement Prokes During Face-to-Face” from Antara Bali (Indonesian): Head of the Bali Province Education, Youth and Sports Agency I Ketut Ngurah Boy Jayawibawa reminded Bali schools carrying out face-to-face learning starting in early October 2021 to consistently implement strict health protocols. "We don't want face-to-face learning to lead to new clusters of COVID-19 spread," said Boy Jayawibawa on Monday. Although face-to-face is already allowed in Bali, education units have the option to do online learning. Education units that carry out limited face-to-face learning patterns must coordinate with the local COVID-19 Task Force. PTM must be temporarily closed if a confirmed case of COVID-19 is found, and/or the regional risk level increases.
More...
Nation: “Jakarta Postpones Classroom Learning for 1,509 Schools” from Antara
Denpasar: “UNUD Requires Original Tracing When Face-to-face Lectures Begin” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: “SMA and SMK Start Face-to-Face on Monday” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Klungkung: “Face-to-Face Day One, Students in Klungkung Are Enthusiastic” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Badung Proposes Two-day Quarantine” from Bali Express (Indonesian): The Central Government has prepared five hotels to be used for quarantine. Meanwhile, the Badung Regency Government has proposed that the quarantine of tourists can be shortened. “We are very ready and we have been preparing for a long time," said Cok Darmawan on Monday. His party also said that it would propose that the quarantine be shortened to two days. "The policy is still eight days of quarantine. We suggested that we should quarantine for two days," he said. When tourists arrive, a swab test will be carried out. If the results are negative they can continue the visit after undergoing a period of quarantine. If the results are positive, the treatment will be continued. "All quarantine costs are borne by tourists," he said.
Context: A two-day quarantine would be the shortest quarantine currently on offer in Southeast Asia.
More ...
Province: “Ngurah Rai Numbers Rise, Four Cities Dominate” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: “Tourism Reopens, Tourism Managers Remain Pessimistic” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Klungkung: “Guides Begin to Serve Mount Agung” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Gianyar: “Despite PPKM Level 3, Ubud Still Empty” from iNews Bali (Indonesian)
“Govt to Permit Travel Without Pedulilindungi” from Tempo: The Indonesian Health Ministry’s digital transformation office on Monday announced that members of the public that do not have mobile access to the PeduliLindungi app will be permitted to board trains and planes. People who do not own a mobile phone need to submit their identity card number (NIK) as they book a flight or train ticket as this would help authorities reach the individual’s Covid-19 status and vaccination certificate. “We have applied this ticket integration in airports. The data will be validated as tickets are booked for railway transport,” said the Health Ministry digital transformation office chief Setiaji on Monday.
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Of Interest
“Indonesian Prison System Over Double Capacity” from The Jakarta Globe
“Retired Doctor Dies Snorkeling at Nusa Dua” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Russian Woman Faces up to 12 Years for Covid-Discounted Meth” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Baby Primates Openly Sold in Bali Market” from Coconuts Bali
How You Can Help Bali
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis due to Covid19, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. By the middle of 2020, over 100,000 people on Bali had lost their job. While government support has been limited, Indonesians and foreigners have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to those most in need.
We've been raising awareness of these efforts, and if you’d like to make a contribution of any kind, you can see a list of some organisations here. Further projects have registered themselves with Bali Solidarity. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Outlanders.
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A “Context” note, along with a reference link may be added after an excerpt to include additional information and/or links to further reading on the topic.
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