Sunday, May 3
Swab tests in Bangli confirm 24 infections, 3 banjars on 14-day lockdown + Electricity rates won't rise this quarter + Denpasar City Council: Forcing push-ups for not wearing masks is a no-no + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Sunday, May 3. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. Also, if you can contribute US$5/month to help me keep the lights on, that would be awesome.
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!
Special Announcement
I am looking to add a section to the newsletter to spotlight efforts by foreigners in Bali to help the local population during this time of crisis. If you know of anyone who is raising funds, delivering food, organizing volunteers, or otherwise trying to rally people to the cause of assisting our hosts and neighbors, please let me know by sending and email to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
Status Update
Country-wide Numbers:
Source:
Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB Indonesia): @BNPB_Indonesia
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
Bali Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 30-Day 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.
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the official websites of each Regency's COVID-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
The Big News
"24 Cases of COVID-19 Confirmed In Abuan, Bangli; Banjars Put Into 14-day Quarantine" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Three banjars in Abuan Village - Serokadan, Abuan, and Sala - have been put into quarantine for 14 days after follow-up swab testing on the 443 people who had returned possible positive results in rapid tests confirmed 24 infections of the coronavirus among them. During the isolation period, residents in Abuan Village were not allowed to leave the house. Especially outside the village area. (Ed. Note: These confirmed infections were not included in yesterday's official government summary, as they came after the daily count had been completed.)
"PLN Ensures Electricity Rates Do Not Increase" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): At its quarterly electricity rate annoucement, PLN said that the basic electricity tariffs for all service levels will not increase. "We make sure there is no electricity increase at this time; prices are still the same as the previous three month period. Since 2017, the electricity tariff has never increased," said Executive Vice President of Corporate and CSR Committees, I Made Suprateka... The current tariff rates are as follows:
Low voltage = IDR 1,467 / kWh
R-1/900 VA RTM = IDR 1,352 / kWh
Medium voltage = IDR 1,115 / kWh
High voltage = IDR 997 / kWh
"Denpasar City Council Criticizes 'Push Ups' Sanctions for People Not Wearing Masks" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): A number of villages Denpasar have imposed strict sanctions on anyone who does not wear a mask while out in public- including requiring offenders to do physical tasks as punishments, such as push-ups. Denpasar City Council member AA Susruta Ngurah Putra, this is not appropriate... Since the Mayor has not declared this to be a valid punishment, then villages should not be imposing it on outsiders. Physical punishment is the same as criminal punishment and it is very dangerous. "For the indigenous people themselves, that's fine, but if outsiders are sent down for push ups. Let us run the rules that have been outlined by the government. Don't make your own rules. Poor community. I agreed to return to normal rules, I must wear a mask, and avoid gathering," he said.
Other Headlines
"Covid-19 Plague Triggers Organic Fertilizer Demand in Gianyar to Soar" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Since Covid-19 hit, the need for organic fertilizer has jumped. Temesi's Garbage Processing Foundation is very busy thanks to the surge in public demand. Demand levels have reached 2 tons per day, with most orders coming from the general public says Foundation Manager I Wayan Cakra. "Thanks to the Covid-19 situation, many people wante to plant gardens," he said.
"Animals Threatened, Taman Satwa Hopes Subsidies" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Regional Board of the Indonesian Recreational Parks Association (DPD PUTRI) of Bali have asked the government to provide subsidies for animal feed. The Chairperson of DPD PUTRI Bali, I Gusti Agung Ayu Inda Trimafo Yudha, said the current condition of the recreational / animal park was precarious because there has been no more income since the closure following the Covid -19 pandemic. "Not only because of the closure of 2 months ago, but long ago since December the condition of the animal park has been half-suspended suspended," Gung Inda said... There are a number of animal parks n Bali that are also conservation institutions. Among them are Bali Elephant Camp in Carangsari Village, Taro Safari Park in Gianyar, Safari Park in Gianyar, Bali Bird Park in Singapadu, Gianyar, as well as local / village-managed animal parks such as Monkey Forest Ubud, Gianyar in Sangeh and Uluwatu, Badung and parks recreation / other animal parks.
"Hotel Meat Donated to the Zoo" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Due to the collapse fo the tourism sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic, stocks of meat and vegetables for hotels and restaurants has been piling up in warehouses. Instead of letting their stocks spoil and go to waste, food traders who are members of Denpasar Food Solidarity (SPD) have donated their food to the zoo... Approximately 600 kilograms of beef were given to animals at the Bali Safari yesterday. Bringing refrigerated trucks, hundreds of kilograms of meat were brought directly by 4 SPD volunteers.
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 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.