Sunday, May 24
Govt says there's no PSBB but there's no opening either + Possible outbreak in Badung, with 4 cases among first 300 tests of 1,200 villagers + City Councilor calls Denpasar's PKM "ineffective" + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, May 24 (Eid Mubarak lakum wa-li-‘a’ilatakum to all who celebrate!). 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
Overall 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 ("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
"Bali Regional Secretary: Govt Not Encouraging Residents To Do Normal Activities" from Antara (Indonesian): Regional Secretary of the Bali Provincial Government Dewa Made Indra said that there were no instructions for local residents to leave the house to work or do their normal activities amid the current COVID-19 pandemic. "Bali is one of the areas that has not implemented Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). As a result, restrictions on community activities in Bali are more lax compared to regions that implement PSBB. Because of this more lenient stance we are able to be more productive and work while maintaining strong discipline," he said... While this policy has encouraged the central government to hold up Bali as a leader for the rest of the country on how to normalize this situation, he stressed that the Bali Provincial Government and the Task Force were cautious in responding to this as there are still cases of local transmission growing from day to day that must be watched out for.
"Swab Results for Banjar Sayan Baleran Residents Show 4 Infections; 900 More to Be Tested" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Following the identification of a case of Covid-19 that resulted from local transmission in Banjar Sayan Baleran, Werdi Bhuwana Village, Mengwi District, Badung Regency, more than 300 residents took Rapid Tests. 12 returned reactive results, and follow-up swab tests have confirmed that 4 are infected... Head of Badung Regency's Health Office, Dr. Nyoman Gunarta, confirmed the results and said that his team will will conduct further rapid tests on residents of Werdi Bhuwana who have not yet been examined. "On Monday we will conduct more Rapid Tests. Hopefully the remaining 900 or so people [of the original 1,200 identified via contact tracing] can be tested quickly," he said.
"Member Of the Board Calls Denpasar's PKM Ineffective " from Bali Prawara (Indonesian): In light of the still-increasing number of infections in the city, Denpasar City DPRD member Anak Agung Ngurah Gede Widiada said that the city's Community Activity Restriction (PKM) has a good intention, but that its implementation so far has been ineffective because there are still many routes to enter the city that cannot be strictly guarded. Widiada says that the problem was limited personnel, meaning that Covid-19 cases could not be suppressed by the PKM alone, but that it requires community participation. "So, cooperation and discipline are also needed from the people of Denpasar City," he said. "The government should not issue rules without studies or rules on the spot which actually confuse people in the midst of this difficult situation."
CORRECTION: In yesterday's newsletter, the sub-headline included the note, "Indonesia's emergency declaration extended from May 28 to 'indefinitely,'" and the corresponding story had the headline, "Indonesia Extends State Of Emergency Status Indefinitely." This was an inaccurate re-write of the translation from the Indonesian. The direct translation of the headline from the story that appeared in Bali Puspa News is, "Indonesia Is Still In A State Of National Disaster Emergency Status;" it quoted Doni Monardo, Chairman of the country's Covid-19 Task Force as saying, "Automatically, the status of a state of disaster emergency adjusts to Presidential Decree 12 of 2020. As long as the presidential decree has not ended, the status of disaster is still valid." The headline re-write & the issue's sub-headline should have more clearly communicated the nuance. They should have read, "Government Confirms That State Of Emergency Will Extend Until President Declares It Over." We regret any confusion this may have caused.
Other Headlines
"Police Presence Increased At Bali's Four Entrances" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): In order to handle an expected increase in the numbers of people trying to leave on Eid al-Fitr 1441 Hijri, which falls on Sunday, Bali police have added more staff at the island's four entry points, namely Ngurah Rai Airport, Gilimanuk Harbor, Benoa Harbor, and Padang Bai Harbor. In addition, authorities are advising all people to not return to their hometowns.
"After 1 Positive COVID-19 Test In Gerokgak, Dozens Take Rapid Test" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): After finding 1 patient who was confirmed to be positive for COVID-19 in Gerokgak Subdistrict, Buleleng's Task Force conducted tracing in the area. Dozens of people underwent a rapid test because they had interacted with the person, identified as "Patient 61." 26 people underwent a rapid test, with 20 nonreactive. The other 6 results are still pending.
"National Task Force Chief Says 15,300 PMI Have Returned to Bali; Local Govt Clarifies Number to 10,000 Balinese + 4,000 non-Balinese" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Chairperson of the National Covid-19 Task Force (GTPP) Doni Monardo said there were 15,300 Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) from Bali who had returned to Indonesia, with 312 were reported as being exposed to the coronavirus. However, the Chairperson of Bali's Covid-19 Task Force, Dewa Made Indra, offered alternate figures... As of Thursday, only 14,010 PMI have been counted arriving on the island, of whom 10,119 had Balinese residency and 3,891 were non-Balinese; 186 of them have tested positive for Covid-19. Yesterday an additional 692 yesterday arrived, including 100 non-Balinese. After clearing health check protocols they will continue to their area of origin. "Maybe those who [the central government] counted were all thought to be of genuine Balinese origin," Dewa Made Indra said.
"Number of Toll Road Users Decreases 80%" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of users of the Bali Mandara Toll Road has decreased by 80%, from 50,000-55,000 vehicles per day to 10,000-15,000 vehicles per day... The agency that manages the road, Jasa Marga Bali Tol (JBT), has no plans to reduce the toll to entice more driveres to use the road, according to Spokesman I Putu Gandi Ginarta. "At this time, we have not made any effort to increase the use of tolls; instead we have taken part in a campaign to reduce activities outside the home. At home alone. When it returns to normal, we will arrange several programs to increase traffic. But for now it is not yet," he said.
The View from Outside
"How Coronavirus Has Changed Your Bali Holiday FOREVER - with Aussie Bogans Now Facing Very Unusual Punishments" from The Daily Mail: Bali officials have drawn a connection between plunging crime rates and a dip in Australian tourists. One benefit for struggling locals is that the virus has pushed out unruly tourists and taken the strain off overworked and frustrated police.... Kuta police chief detective Bagus Nagara Baranacita told Courier Mail the local station cells used to be filled with brash, drunken tourists. "We were always busy with Australians fighting, drunk Australians and Aussies arrested with drugs," he said. "Please come to my office and see the empty cells. There are no Australians!" he said.
Non-Covid News of Note
"New Endemic Species Found In Bunaken National Park" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): West Bali National Park Office (TNBB) has confirmed the existence of new species found on the island. This new endemic reptile species is of the type Gecko Cyrtodactylus, commonly known as the Gecko. There are morphological features that distinguish this Bali endemic gecko by its scales; researchers have named it Cyrtodactylus Jatnai... The findings of this species add to the biodiversity of the Bunaken National Park. Previously recorded 18 species of mammals, 205 species of birds, 13 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians, 67 species of butterflies and more than 120 species of fish.
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.
Our standards
We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
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.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.