Sunday, May 17
Health certificate now req'd for all entering Indonesia + Swab tests now req'd for all entering Bali + 10% tax to be req'd to watch Netflix + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, May 17. Please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. I happily put this daily newsletter together as a public service, and it will be free so long as the current emergency lasts. *A paid subscription is NOT required to access this content.* When signing up, select the "None" option and you'll get it delivered to your Inbox each day. But if you would like to support my work, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
Today's Regency Numbers
Total Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 30-Day Trends:
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under in-patient observation hospital ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the websites of each Regency's COVID-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
Sources:
The national update comes from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency: @BNPB_Indonesia
The Bali Numbers infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The Total Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
The 30-day trend charts have been compiled using daily government data.
How You Can Help
Last week we shared details about some of the people and organizations who are fundraising and taking action to help local communities in Bali during this unprecedented economic crisis. Here are the five amazing projects that we featured:
Visit this link to see full details on all of the charitable projects that we documented last week, and please share it, as we'll add each new effort that we feature every weekday.
The Big News
"Health Certificate Required to Enter Indonesia" from Antara: Indonesian and foreign nationals seeking to enter Indonesia need to obtain a health certificate from the country of origin and undergo a COVID-19 rapid test, or a laboratory-based test, according to the Health Ministry. In addition, all Indonesians and foreign nationals arriving at each entry point need to follow quarantine procedures and undergo additional medical checks. The medical checks include interviews, body temperature checks, COVID-19 symptoms test, saturation oxygen test, rapid test, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test... The medical certificates must be in English and are valid for seven days from the date of issue. The medical certificates will be validated by doctors at the Port Health Office at ports, airports, and border check points. If a health certificate confirms its holder has tested negative for COVID-19 based on a PCR test, he/she will only be subjected to medical tests to check for symptoms or risk factors for the novel coronavirus disease.
"All Travelers Entering Bali Must Take Mandatory Swab Test" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian): In response to the Minister of Transportation's policy of easing flight transportation and port access, the Provincial Government of Bali has declared that anyone entering Bali through the airport or ferry ports must show a negative result on a swab test in order to gain entry. This is a change from the previous requirement of having to take the rapid test, and is still being done even though the central government has prepared instruments for every passenger of the aircraft to undergo rapid tests at the origin airport before departing. "We are doing a tightening of screening for every person who enters through the entrances of Bali, especially Ngurah Rai Airport and Benoa Port by requiring swab tests," said Bali Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Dewa Made Indra. "With regard to this (Ministry of Transportation) policy, Bali cannot close down, but we can respond by conducting a tighter screening of everyone who enters Bali," he said.
"On Second Day Of PKM, Denpasar's Sreets Look Deserted, Inspections At Border More Orderly" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Spokesperson for Denpasar's Covid-19 Task Force, Dewa Gede Rai, said that inspections have continued at Denpasar's border posts, however, the implementation is more orderly. There are no long queues as the previous day. "Based on the team's report in the field, the inspection at the border post has begun to be orderly, there are no more crowds," he said.
Other Headlines
"Authorities Not Finding Additional New Cases Of Covid-19 In Denpasar" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Entering the second day of Denpasar's Restrictions on Community Activities (PKM), the number of positive cases of Covid-19 found in Denpasar has started to slow, according to Spokesperson for the city's Covid-19 Task Force, Dewa Gede Rai. In fact, yesterday there were no new positives detected. "Yes, on the second day of the PKM implementation there were no additional positive cases of new Covid-19, and one patient was also declared cured who had previously been treated at Wangaya Regional Hospital," Dewa Rai said.
"Abuan Village Quarantine Ends" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The quarantine period for Abuan Village, Susut District in Bangli has ended. At the same time, Banjar Serokadan remains under lockdown and authorities have completed work on a public kitchen to meet the people's food needs... Head of Public Relations for Bangli's Covid019 Task Force, I Wayan Dirgayusa, said that with the end of the quarantine period, at this time there was no longer any specificity towards Abuan Village. "Now the status of Abuan Village is the same as other villages."
"Jembrana Covid-19 Task Force Holds Simulation On How to Handle Bodies Of Covid-19 Victims" fro Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Althught there have not yet been any deaths from Covid-19 in Jembrana, the Recency's Covid-19 Task Force is continuing to plan for the possibility by runnig victim burial drills... "We conducted this simulation with the aim that the government or the task force be ready to carry out management of co-19 bodies," said Jembrana Regent I Putu Artha. After seeing the simulation, the Artha Regent assessed that the process of rolling the bodies up to the funeral was carried out according to the health protocol handling Covid-19.
"Passenger Numbers At Ngurah Rai International Airport Low Since Travel Restrictions Lessened Ngurah Rai Airport" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Head of Airport Authority Region IV, Elfi Amir, said that in the first week since the Ministry of Transportation added exemptions to its restrictions on travel, the number of flights coming to Bali have been limited, with a number of exemptions for travelers with special conditions permitted to travel... During the week, from 7 to 13 May, the airport only saw 41 flights- 11 repatriation flights and 30 regular flights. The number of traveler was dominated by repatriated migrant workers, with the total number of passengers reaching 2,211 people. This number included 580 government / private agency official trips, 1 person who needed emergency health services, and 38 persons who had family members that were seriously ill or had died.
"Ahead of Eid al-Fitr, Food Prices Start Soaring" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): A number of food prices ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in the State Public Market experienced a surge. But even so, the stock for the needs of people, both basic food and other things is still maintained... Head of the Jembrana Koperindag Service Office, Komang Agus Adinata, said that rice stocks are still sufficient to meet the community's needs in the near future, including meeting the needs of the community on holidays that tend to increase. "If in the State Public Market, stocks such as various seasonings, eggs, groceries, oil stocks are still sufficient. Prices are relatively fixed. Only a few commodities of shallot and chicken meat rose. This is still normal, approaching the holiday situation, household needs are also rising," he said.
"Tourism Ministry Targets Industry Re-launch In October 2020" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has begun to prepare for the recovery of tourism in Bali. According to the Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani, the plan is to begin the reopening in two phases. The period from June-October will be the "gaining confidence" period, which includes the preparation and revitalization of destinations, planning promotional programs and assistance to tourism actors... Many tourists are already very homesick for Bali. "We can open ITDC in Nusa Dua first, given that it is physically isolated and far from settlements and with complete facilities," he said. After that, other tourist spots could be opened gradually if the COVID-19 trend around the world reached 0%, such as Tanah Lot spots in Tabanan, or the Monkey Forest in Ubud.
Non-Covid News of Note
"As of July 1, Digital Products from Overseas Pulled By VAT" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Directorate General of Tax for the Ministry of Finance will levy a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 10% on all imported digital products in the form of intangible goods and services starting July 1, 2020... This tax will apply to digital products such as streaming music subscriptions, streaming films, digital applications and games, as well as online services from abroad, which will be treated the same as conventional products consumed daily by people who have been subject to VAT, as well as similar digital products produced by domestic businesses.
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.
The British Embassy in Jakarta has recently posted a great summary of the Indonesian government's travel restrictions on their Facebook page. You can read it here.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are some 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 Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) database feeds into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable list of flight restrictions around.
Revolver Maps' Travel Restrictions Database - This list pulls directly from IATA's Timatic database and arranges the countries in lists that are easier to navigate and creates share-able links for every country. NOTE: This is a third-party service and they warn that the updates to their system can be delayed by several hours for certain countries.
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.
Common abbreviations to be familiar with:
PMI: Indonesian migrant worker
PSBB: Policy of extreme social distancing. Officially restricts forms of transportation and prohibits certain types of business from operating. Requires any permitted businesses to enforce strict social distancing guidelines.
OTG: Possible cases, with no symptoms.
ODP: Suspected cases, being monitored. People with fever or respiratory symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Tracked and placed under out-patient observation.
PDP: Probable cases, under observation. People with acute respiratory illness with at least one symptom such as cough, sore throat, congestion, light or heavy pneumonia, and travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Usually placed under observation in an isolation ward at a designated hospital pending swab testing results.
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 do not share rumors.
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For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I will polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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