Sunday, April 12
New quarantine protocols in Buleleng + Proposal to quarantine all overseas arrivals in hotels submitted to gov + Another beach bites the dust + Quarantined humans produce more trash... and more!
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, April 12. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
If you've got a tip on a story that should be included, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
Status Update
Country-wide Numbers:
Sources:
Charts are from Worldometers and are current as of 00:00 GMT today.
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
Bali Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Trends:
Sources:
Infographic comes from Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The geographic breakdown comes from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
Charts have been compiled using their data.
The Big News
"Dominated by 'Imported Cases,' Covid-19 Task Force Tightens Access to Bali" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): With the number of cases dominated by imported cases or cases of transmission brought from abroad in Bali, the Task Force Team has considered a prevention strategy that consistes of tightening entrance protocols at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and Gilimanuk Port. While Benoa Harbor is no longer an entrance, Padang Bai Harbor is also relatively safe. The strategy taken to strengthen the defense at the entrance is to tighten the filter at Ngurah Rai Airport... "We have a very strict inspection, especially related to the arrival of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI). All our PMIs are screened with a rapid test. If the rapid test results are negative, they are directed to conduct an independent quarantine at each residence with supervision from the district / city government and The mutual cooperation task force that has been formed up to the village level," said Governor I Wayan Koster.
"Proposal: Quarantine All Returning Migrant Workers In Hotels Upon Arrival" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Golkar Bali has submitted a number of proposals to the Governor in response to the increase in positive cases of COVID-19 in Bali, the majority of which are imported. Namely, that screening protocol be tightened, and that all returning migrant workers (PMI) be quarantined in hotels for 14 days before being allowed to continue on to their homes... "We propose that the local government cooperate / rent hotel rooms by negotiating lower prices, where hotels and consumption are borne by the provincial and district / city governments where the PMI originates," said Chairman of the Golkar Bali DPD, I Nyoman Sugawa Korry.
"Buleleng Instructs Villages to Prepare Isolation Protocols" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): All villages in Buleleng have been instructed to prepare isolation sites in each village. This space will be used as a place for foreign travelers (i.e. returnees) and locals who are suspected of possible exposure in Indonesia... "We don't have a problem with Indonesian Migrant Workers. They are foreign exchange heroes. They may have been accidentally exposed to a virus. So when they arrive in their village, they need to be isolated for 14 days in a separate place. This is for everyone's health and safety," explained Putu Agus Suradnyana, Chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Covid-19 in Buleleng, who was also the Regent of Buleleng.
Other Headlines
"HOAX: Message Circulating On WhatsApp About People Carrying COVID-19 Wandering the Streets In Gianyar Is False" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): A message being shared among group chats that advises peoel to not shop at stores in Gianyar because there are Positive Corona patients who roam the streets there is a hoax... Responding to the message, the Head of the Gianyar Regency Coordination Unit for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19, who also served as the Regional Secretary of Gianyar, I Made Wisnu Wijaya, explained that the message was not true, "That is a Hoax, there is no such thing. There are just irresponsible people who make the atmosphere worse in a situation like this."
"To Prevent More Patients, All Beach Entrance Access In Sanur Is Restricted" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Access to beaches in the Sanur area, Denpasar, Bali, is starting to be restricted today. This restriction is carried out starting from Sunrise Beach to Mertasari Beach. The aim is to reduce the growing number of Covid-19. Several beach access points have been bloked off with bamboo fencing, with others have guards posted... The restrictions apply to those who will do recreation on the beach either bathing, swimming, fishing or just recreation. Meanwhile, logistics transportation to Nusa Penida can still be done. Likewise for residents of Nusa Penida who will return home still allowed, as well as traditional and religious activities carried out on the beach can still be allowed.
"Household Trash Increases Dramatically" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): while the coronavirus outbreak has heavily impacted the economy, with many workers are laid off or forced to work from home, the impact on sanitation workers is overwhelming. There has been an increase waste being produced, especially household waste... According to one garbage truck driver, they transport hundreds of cubic rubbish every day to the only landfill in Jembrana. But in the last few days, while the volume of waste in the market has decreased, the amount of garbage from households has doubled.
"Video: Basic Food Aid Prepared for Thousands of Poor Families In Gianyar " from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Thousands of portions of staples have been collected as food assistance for poor families at GOR Kebo Iwa Gianyar. The rice, eggs to instant noodles will be prepared for 7,554 poor families in Gianyar Regency... The Regional Government of Gianyar will also collect the data of daily workers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak to further give assistance as needed. Gianyar Regent I Made Mahayastra said that each poor family would receive food aid in the form of 25 kilograms of rice, 1 crate of eggs, and 1 box of instant noodles. "Hopefully this is enough to relieve the people most affected by the coronavirus outbreak at this time," he explained.
Resources
Important information for foreigners who are staying on the island, such as designated COVID-19 hospitals and emergency contact numbers, can be found by following this link.
The government has cancelled its visa-on-arrival process and rolled out enhanced entry requirements for people traveling to Indonesia; they have also granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are two of the best up-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is the global lobbying body for the aviation industry. Their alerts feed into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable database of flight restrictions around.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each country's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
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" we have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. When possible, we will provide a short summary in proper English to help get the details of the piece across more efficiently, and we will polish the excerpt to help clarify the details.
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