Sunday, March 29
Good evening! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, March 29. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island.
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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.
**NOTE: 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
"Indonesia to Issue Lockdown Guidance" from The Star: The government is drafting a regulation to stipulate the procedures and requirements for imposing regional quarantines, also known as lockdowns, a minister says, as confirmed cases of Covid-19 continue to surge in the country... "The regulation will stipulate matters such as at what time certain regions can impose restrictions of movement, or what is usually known as a lockdown, as well as the requirements, the boundaries and the procedures," Political, Legal and Security Minister Mahfud MD said on Friday.
"HOAX: Governor's Decree of A State of Emergency" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): The Government of the Province of Bali, through the Office of Communication, Information and Statistics, stated that the "Governor's Statement Number 57 / SatgasCovid19 / III / 2020" dated March 31, 2020, and "Decree of the Governor of Bali Number 272/04-G / HK / 2020" dated March 31, 2020 regarding the Extension of a State of Emergency that has been circulating on social media is hoax... The decision on whether or not to declare a Stste of Emergency as a response to the Covid-19 outbreak will be decided at a joint meeting of the Governor's Covid-19 Task Force on Monday, March 30.
"Bali 'Lockdown' Problem, Koster: Wait for the President's Direction" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): The Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, asserted that up to now he has no plans to make a "lockdown" attempt or close the area of Bali to prevent the covid-19 outbreak or corona virus. Bali's lockdown policy, said Koster, is still awaiting President Jokowi's direction... According to Koster, despite not implementing a lockdown policy or closing the area of Bali, the Provincial Government of Bali has issued an appeal regarding restrictions on residents leaving their homes or participating in activities that are followed by many people. "Even though we have not yet done a lockdown, we have restricted residents leaving their homes, except for urgent or special interests, are prohibited from gathering in crowds, entertainment centers, and postponing plans to Bali or leaving Bali, so that we can control it so that we can spread the risk of covid-19 manage well," said Koster.
"Covid-19 Patients to Be Centralised In Unud Hospital with 93 Isolation Rooms" from The Seminyak Times: The Bali Provincial Government has decided to focus the treatment of Covid-19 patients, both positive and patients under supervision (PDP), at the Udayana University State Hospital, or Unud as it is commonly known, located in Jimbaran... The preparation is now underway. The hospital will be principally used for the isolation of Covid-19 patients. This was revealed by the Director of PT Unud Hospital, Dr. Dewa Putu Gde Purwa Samatra. "Next week there will be 12 rooms and when completed there will be 93 rooms," he confirmed on Saturday night.
"To Prevent Crowds, Eka Regent Calls for Modern Stores to Open from 11:00 - 17:00" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): To minimize the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Tabanan Regency, Regent Eka revealed during a video conference with the Tabvid Covid-19 Task Force in Tabanan Regency that his party has instructed that the operating hours for all Modern Stores in Tabanan Regency be set as 11:00 - 17:00 until further notice.
"Mayor Asks Denpasar Residents Not to Return Home" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Mayor of Denpasar IB. Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra firmly requested that its citizens not return to their villages for the time being... This needs to be considered so that the spread of covid 19 is not more widespread, because a high level of population mobility between regions will expand and accelerate the spread of Covid-19. "Success in breaking the coronavirus chain requires discipline and cooperation with all; it is not enough to just rely on the government, but it needs the participation and discipline of the community in following directions and appeals," Rai Mantra said on Sunday in Denpasar.
Other Headlines
"European Tourists Evacuated from Bali After Flights Cancelled" from CNA: Hundreds of European tourists stranded in Bali were evacuated from the Indonesian holiday island on Saturday (Mar 28) after their flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic... British authorities booked seats on two commercial flights to London for hundreds of citizens, while Germany has chartered six flights from Denpasar to Frankfurt since Friday. France also organised flights to Paris for hundreds of its citizens. The first one departed Friday while the second was due to leave with about 400 passengers on Saturday.
"Security Increasing During Covid-19 Outbreak" from The Seminyak Times: Police are beefing up security at vital entrance points to the island, namely Ngurah Rai Airport, Benoa Harbor, Ubung Terminal and the inter-island ferry ports. They are also patrolling the streets more but point out that crime has actually been on the decrease... "Our main attention is with the people who are arriving, while those who are leaving, we will help to facilitate their exit. As for those who enter, we are working with the COVID-19 Task Force to truly filter them before they enter the island,” said Denpasar Police Chief of Ops, Commander Nyoman Gatra on Saturday.
"Preventing Community Crowds, Badung Diskominfo Turns Off Free Wifi in Banjar" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Badung Regency Government through the Badung Communication and Information Office provides free wifi assistance to Banjars in Badung. But in the midst of the threat of a corona virus outbreak, Diskominfo Badung has decided to temporarily turn off the free wifi in the Banjar. This is being done to prevent the crowd or the gathering of many people to search the internet.
"Price of Chilis Increases to Rp100,000" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Prices of several types of spices sold at the wholesale market in Bali have begun to rise. Chilis have became one of the commodities that experienced an increase.The price of this commodity has reached Rp 100,000 per kilogram. This increase began on Friday and has continued through Sunday... The increase in the price of chili is allegedly due to supplies from outside Bali, such as Banyuwangi and Central Java, starting to drag. The arrival of supplies has stopped since Nyepi. On the other hand, supplies from several centers in Bali such as Karangasem and Pancasari are also small.
The View from Outside
"Tourists Stranded in Bali as COVID-19 Cases Rise in Indonesia" from Voice of America: Mark Gilbert’s plan to backpack around Southeast Asia fell apart as borders closed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The British national arrived in Bali, Indonesia, on March 16, after a visit to Laos... Gilbert was supposed to go to Vietnam after a short getaway on the Island of God but did not make it because Vietnam banned inbound international flights on March 21 and barred entry to all foreigners on March 22. "So now I’m stuck in Bali," the 34-year-old said.
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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