Sunday, April 5
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, April 5. 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
The latest official infection numbers for Indonesia:
Sources:
Charts are from Worldometers and are current as of 00:00 GMT today.
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
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.
The Big News
"Positive COVID-19 Cases In Bali Reaches 32" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Positive cases of COVID-19 in Bali Province are increasing. The latest data shows an increase of five people, making the total number of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 as of March 4, 2020 were 32 people- 18 of whom have been declared cured. The number of suspected cases, or "patients under surveillance" (PDP) in Bali is 183 people as of Saturday.
"Bali Receives 12,500 PPE, 37,500 Masks, and 12,200 Rapid Tests" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Head of the Covid-19 Task Force for Bali Province, Dewa Made Indra, said that the Central Government has provided assistance tot he province in the form of 12,500 PPE items, 37,500 masks and 12,200 rapid tests.
"New Procedures Put In Place for Residents Returning to Bali from Red Zones at Gilimanuk" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): After a visit to Gilimanuk by Bali Province COVID-19 Task Force Chief, Dewa Made Indra, the procedure for medical examinations there has been tightened. From now on, a rapid test will be given to all passengers arriving from red zones... Currently there are 150 rapid tests in stock, but tomorrow these will be backed up from the Province to 500 rapid tests.
Other Headlines
"Badung Will Review Restrictions on Operating Hours for Traditional Markets and Modern Stores" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Restrictions on operating hours of modern shops and traditional markets imposed in Badung Regency will be re-examined so as not to obstruct the fulfillment of community needs... Currently, operational restrictions apply to all businesses except: 1. supermarkets, minimarkets, markets, shops or places for sale of medicines and medical equipment for food, basic needs, essential goods, fuel oil, gas and energy; 2. health service facilities or other facilities in the context of fulfilling health services; and 3. public places or facilities to fulfill the basic needs of other residents including sports activities.
"Hundreds Of Tourism Workers Laid Off In Tabanan" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The Tabanan Manpower and Transmigration Office noted that at least 206 workers engaged in the tourism sector in Tabanan were laid off due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hundreds of workers are from three companies engaged in the tourism sector... Most of the workforce is laid off due to the absence of tourist visits so the company cannot pay operational costs. "That number is only temporary data, it is possible to increase again, but here it is only laid off, not until someone is at PKH," explained Putu Santika, Head of Tabanan I Manpower and Transmigration Office.
"90% of Hotels in Karangasem Close" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Hundreds of Hotels and Restaurants in Karangasem , Bali , have been temporarily closed due to the Corona or Covid-19 virus outbreak. The closure began in the middle of March 2020 and continues today... "There are around 400 Hotels in Karangasem. Nearly 90% of them are closed. While 76 hotels that have confirmed to PHRI. There are still many who have not informed the group, especially Hotels in Tulamben," said Wayan Kariasa, Chairperson of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association.
"Foreign Tourists Visiting Bali Down 95%" from CNN Indonesia (Indonesia): The Bali Provincial Tourism Office notes that foreign tourist arrivals have dropped about 95%. The decline has occurred due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic... Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, I Putu Astawa, noted that only around 500 tourists are arriving per day at this time. In fact, it normally reaches 10,000-11,000 people per day, sucah as this time last year.
"Most Hotels in Bali Close Up to the Next Two Months" from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): Chairman of the Bali Hotel Association, I Made Ricky Darmika Putra, said that almost all hotels and restaurants in Bali were closed temporarily. The closure is related to a covid-19 disease pandemic or corona virus... "At present, almost all hotels and restaurants in Bali are temporarily closed for the next one to two months, all at the same time seeing the current situation," he said. Even if there are still hotels operating, he continued, the occupancy or occupancy rate of the hotel is below 10%. Meanwhile, restaurants that are still operating close operational hours early.
The View From Outside
"Bali's Tourism-dependent Economy Is 'Collapsing' Due to Coronavirus Travel Bans" from ABC News: Many of Bali's 4 million residents have been relying on the tourism industry for generations, but with people staying home due to the coronavirus travel restrictions, its residents are struggling... I Ketut Ardana, head of Bali's branch of the Indonesian National Organisation for Tours and Travel (ASITA), told the ABC almost all tourists had left the island, and those left behind were stuck and hoping to get home. "80% of people in Bali rely on tourism whether directly or indirectly," he said.
"Police In Bali Disinfect the Streets of Denpasar from Trucks" from ABC News [Video]
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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We only list news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
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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