September 6, 2021
No promises on malls reopening says Cok Ace + 93.4% of Buleleng Covid deaths unvax + Bali Government doesn’t update data + more
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As the regency-by-regency Covid-19 disclosure has been discontinued by Bali’s provincial government, and the timing of their island-wide numbers come too late each night to make it practical, we’re putting the afternoon Covid-19 update on hold until we can find alternate sources for the data or the government begins publishing it again. We will continue to publish a weekly Covid-19 update every Sunday evenings which will give context and show trends of both the virus’ spread, and the government’s vaccination program.
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: The provincial government did not release its infographic by press time. Click here to see a look back at last week’s overall totals and an update on the island’s vaccination program.
The Big News
“Cok Ace: No Promises On Malls Reopening” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Cok Ace) said the Provincial Government continues to work on preparing various supporting indicators to lower the PPKM status, so it can accelerate the reopening of malls. "I do not dare to promise directly regarding when the 14 major malls in Bali will reopen," said Cok Ace on Saturday. From his observations during a mall readiness review, Cok Ace said that specifically for Beach Walk, the provision of health protocols before entering the mall were clear. He added payment transactions using non-cash or Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) must be enforced. From the target of 360,000 merchants for 2021, to date around 280,000 merchants use QRIS. Bali is ranked seventh out of 34 provinces in Indonesia for QRIS usage.
“93.4% of Covid Deaths in Buleleng Are Unvaccinated” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Buleleng Covid-19 Handling Task Force claims that the Covid-19 vaccination has been proven to prevent deaths from COVID-19. The claim refers to the large number of cases of death due to COVID-19 occurring in groups of people who are unvaccinated. Referring to the data from the Task Force, there were 475 people in Buleleng who died from COVID-19. Of these, as many as 444 of them were unvaccinated. Almost half of the deaths occurred in the last 4 months. In addition there are 26 other people who have received the first dose of vaccine, and 5 others have received the full dose. When referring to these data, it means that 93.4% of deaths due to COVID-19 occur in unvaccinated people.
“Bali Provincial Government Doesn't Update Covid-19 Data” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The presentation of the latest information data on the handling and prevention of Covid-19 in Bali has again drawn the spotlight from the Central Government. The spotlight on the presentation of Covid-19 information data by the central government followed the slow data update presented by Bali Task Force. Worse yet, on the official website of the Bali Provincial Government, Wednesday's data was only posted on Sunday—four days late. Secretary of the Bali Province Covid-19 Task Force, I Made Rentin, confirmed that there were technical improvements to the data update website that was synchronized with the national level. A member of the PDI-P faction of the Bali DPRD, I Made Rai Warsa asked the Covid-19 Handling Task Force to seriously disseminate information to lower levels—and quickly. “Information must be managed properly," said Rai Warsa.
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Other Headlines
“With No Tourist Handouts, Hungry Bali Monkeys Raid Homes” from AP: Deprived of their preferred food source hungry monkeys on Bali have taken to raiding villagers’ homes. Villagers in Sangeh say the macaques have been venturing out to hang out on their roofs and await the right time to swoop down and snatch a snack. “We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious,” villager Saskara Gustu Alit said. The Sangeh Monkey Forest typically had about 6,000 visitors a month, but as the pandemic spread last year and international travel dropped off, that dropped to about 500. The sanctuary also lost out on admission fees and is running low on money to purchase food. The macaque can eat a variety of animals and plants found in the jungle, but those in the Sangeh Monkey Forest seem to prefer other things. They’re not afraid to take matters into their own hands, Gustu Alit said.
Vaccination Update
“Governor Baswedan Urges Public Not to Fake Vaccine Certificates” from Antara: Governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, has urged people not to falsify COVID-19 vaccine certificates warning this would invite strict sanctions. "Yes, please don't do that, this is a humanitarian matter. Also, it is easier to get a vaccine than to forge a vaccine certificate," Baswedan said on Saturday. He also urged the public not to obtain vaccine certificates illegally because the government has provided vaccination services that are open at all times at affordable costs. "Getting the forged vaccine certificates is a hassle, but getting the vaccine alone is convenient. Why would you obtain the fake ones (vaccine certificate)?" Baswedan asked. Earlier, police arrested two alleged counterfeiters selling fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates online linked to the PeduliLindungi app.
More...
Nation: “207,000 AZ Doses From Dutch Government Arrive” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccinations an Opportunity for Improving Population Data” from Antara
Province: “Bali Receives 358,800 Doses of Sinovac” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Health Ministry Says No PeduliLindungi Leak” from Antara: The Health Ministry has affirmed there was no data leak in the PeduliLindungi application and called on the public to continue using the COVID-19 contact tracing application. The ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations Siti Nadia Tarmizi said regarding the leaked vaccination certificate of President Joko Widodo, she confirmed that there is no evidence of data leak in the app. Tarmizi urged the public to continue using PeduliLindungi since Indonesian citizens’ personal data are protected by law. Regarding the electronic Health Alert Card data, Tarmizi emphasized that the personal data in the system were not leaked nor went to third parties's platform. “The vulnerability on the old e-HAC system is not integrated to PeduliLingundi apps. The ministry have urged the public to uninstall the e-HAC apps and use PeduliLindungi apps that has been integrated to e-HAC,” she said.
Context: Agence France-Presse reported the Government as stating Jokowi’s details were lifted from the General Commission of Election’s website, not from the PeduliLindungi app.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Deploys Ships as Floating Covid-19 Wards” from The Jakarta Globe
Province: “Health Office Threatens Permits Over Pricey Antigens” from Kumparan (Indonesian)
Province: “With the Pandemic, Bali Uses a Cultural Approach” from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian):
Denpasar: “Catholic Church Forbids Wearing Scuba Masks” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Denpasar Covid-19 Referral Hospital Averages 50.72% BOR” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Denpasar: “Alleged Invalid Covid-19 Death Case Investigated” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Jembrana: “Netted Unvaccinated Jabbed on Spot” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“PCR Rates Down, Airport Passengers Up” from Republika (Indonesian): The flow of aircraft passengers at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, has increased. "Last Friday we have made price adjustments to antigen test to IDR 99,000, and there is an increase in passengers," said Stakeholder Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I International Airport Branch Office I Gusti Ngurah Rai, Taufan Yudhistira on Sunday. Taufan said the increase was recorded in the statistics of passengers arriving and leaving the airport last Friday which reached 6,000 passengers. "Previously, Ngurah Bali Airport served an average of around 2,500-2,600 airplane passengers every day," he said.
More...
Nation: “Indonesia Lags in Decoupling Economic and Emissions Growth” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
Nation: “AirAsia Indonesia Extends Flight Suspension” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Nation: “NTB Government Terminates Trawangan Contract” from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Nation: “Lombok Airport-Mandalika Road 90% Complete” from Tempo
Bali Reopening
“Bali’s Tourism Sector Fully Vaccinated Says Official” from Coconuts Bali: All of Bali’s tourism workers have been vaccinated as of this week, the province’s health agency chief has confirmed, as officials continue to gear up for the possibility of restarting full-scale tourism. “Right now, we can pretty much say that 100% of the tourism workforce in Bali have been vaccinated,” Bali Tourism Agency Chief I Putu Astawa said. It’s probably wise to be a little skeptical, especially when officials in Bali have stretched vaccination numbers before. A number of plans to reopen since the pandemic began had to be pushed back several times, as cases soared after periods of relatively low transmissions. The last few months saw the worst toll of the pandemic yet, though the public health crisis has been easing since. On Monday, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said officials have yet to decide on a specific timeline to welcome foreign tourists to the island.
“68 Hotels in Bali Bankrupt, More Expected” from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Due to the impact of the pandemic, as many as 68 hotels in Bali have been officially declared bankrupt. More alarmingly, this condition is predicted to increase with the uncertainty of the economic situation in Bali due to the prolonged pandemic. "PHRI announced that 68 hotels were bankrupt, possibly even more," the Head of the Bali Province Tourism Office, I Putu Astawa said on Sunday. Astawa asked that the situation is understandable, considering the Covid-19 pandemic in Bali has been quite long. "The government has provided assistance last year, including relaxation assistance and others, but the rest of it must understand the government's financial situation," he said.
Context: Others have suggested some of these hotels closures are a part of “natural selection”.
Of Interest
“Indonesia Gets Best Paralympic Games Results in History” from The Jakarta Globe
“Inspection Teams Check Papers of Foreign-Owned Businesses in Gianyar” from Bali Post (Indonesian)
“Djamur Komunitas, A Pioneer of Street Art in Bali” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
“Turtle Conservation Efforts Show Promise” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Ex-Tourism Worker Turns to Pot, Arrested” from Bali Express (Indonesian)
“Unidentified Body on Batu Belig Beach, Drowning Suspected” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
“Three Dogs Poisoned, Foreigner in Bali Offers Cash Reward” from Indonesia Expat
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 with Bali Solidarity. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.
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