Thursday, August 27
Blaming the "not orderly" for virus' spread, Guv imposes fines of Rp. 100k for people & Rp. 1 million for businesses that violate health protocols + Rapid tests still req'd for all arrivals + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook (animation shows changes from 8:00am - 6:00pm)
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*NOTE: Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update.
The Big News
"Bali Enforces Rp100,000 Fine for not Wearing Face Masks Outdoors" from Antara: The Bali governor issued Regulation No. 46 of 2020 that enforces a fine of Rp100,000 on those not wearing a face mask in public. The regulation mandates people to wear a mask, always maintain physical distance, and wash hands with soap and under running water... It stipulates that individuals and business actors, managers, organizers, or persons in charge of public places and facilities are mandated to implement health protocols and ensure requisite compliance. In the meantime, business actors, managers, organizers, or people in charge of public places and facilities will be fined Rp1,000,000 for not providing means to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Ed. Note: The government clarified in an update later in the day yesterday that the new sanctions & penalties will go into effect on September 10. You can read more on that here. In addition, during his announcement, the Governor lashed out at “people” and “business actors” who are “not orderly,” blaming them for the inability of the government to open the island to foreign tourists and forcing his hand by making the penalties a necessity. You can read that part of the story here.)
"Mandatory Rapid Test Still Required to Enter Bali; Dishub Jembrana: Pergub Not Revoked" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): East Java Province has waived the mandatory rapid test for ferry service users. However, the provincial government of Bali still enforces the mandatory rapid test rule because the previous regulation has not been revoked. "It is still mandatory to carry a rapid test, because the regulation has not been revoked," said I Made Dwi Maharimbawa, Head of the Jembrana Transportation, Marine and Fisheries Service... The difference in regulations regarding the mandatory rapid test for the two provinces that are separated from the Bali Strait has confused travel users. In addition, many ferry service users who have entered Bali are asked for a rapid test, even though there is no obligation at Ketapang Port to carry out a rapid test.
(Ed. Note: At his afternoon press conference yesterday, Gov. Koster clarified that rapid tests would continue to be required for all travelers who come to Bali, whether by ferry or aircraft, even as other provinces are lifting the requirement amid questions of their effectiveness in detective positive cases. Read more here.)
"Ngurah Rai Airport Officers Arrested, Hundreds of Ministry of Transportation Employees in Bali Take Urine Tests" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Hundreds of employees of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) at the Airport Authority Office (Otban) in Bali have undergone urine tests. This was done as a follow-up to the arrest of an unscrupulous Kemenhub employee at Ngurah Rai Airport who was caught smuggling drugs in Batam... Urine tests were conducted on 108 Ministry of Transportation employees in the Otban, including structural officials, civil servants and other front-line staff, on Wednesday. The test was directed by the Acting Head of the Otban Office as a measure to anticipate drug abuse by employees.
>> Classifieds <<
Business is tough in the best of times, but these days- Wow. Thankfully, there’s a supportive spirit among the foreigners who remain in Bali; this newsletter is proof. If you’ve got a product or service that needs local support to succeed, let this community know about it here.
Other Headlines
"Citilink Indonesia 7X Daily to Bali" from Bali Discovery: Citilink Indonesia – the low-cost subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia has reopened a bevy of domestic routes – including seven daily flights between Jakarta and Bali – as Indonesian domestic travel continues to rebuild in the “new normal” of the pandemic era. Juliandra Nurtjahjo, CEO of Citilink – said the decision to introduce more flights was motivated by the Airline’s desire to support national tourism. In early July, Juliandra targeted Citilink to operate 200 flights daily by Q4 2020 – a level of flight operations that equates to around 68% of the Airline’s schedule before the coronavirus pandemic.
"Contact Tracing the Missing Link in Indonesia's Battle with COVID-19" from the Jakarta Post: Six months into the epidemic, COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said earlier this month that the country's contact-tracing ability was still poor. He said the government was working on tracing a minimum of 30 contacts per confirmed case. Contact tracing means identifying the contact history of confirmed, probable or suspected cases by interviewing the patients in order to test and quarantine those having been in contact with them as soon as possible... The Jakarta Health Agency’s head of disease control and prevention, Lies Dwi, said obstacles they were facing included an unwillingness of some COVID-19 patients to provide a contact history due to a lack of trust. Others told the health workers they had trouble recalling their activities over the preceding 14 days, especially given the high mobility of urbanites, Lies said.
"Governor Koster Admits Balinese Arak Cannot Be Used in Hospitals" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): In July, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster claimed that the Balinese the spirit arak usada is effective for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, claiming that it can accelerate the recovery of COVID-19 patients by up to 80%. Forensic Toxicologist I Made Agus Gelgel Wirasuta, who is an usada researcher, emphasized that this product is a traditional medicine so it is only used as an adjunct therapy... On Wednesday, Koster emphasized that Balinese arak usada cannot be used in hospitals. "The one in the hospital can't be used. Because it's not a drug that hasn't gone through clinical trials. So that in the hospital, the average recovery takes longer than those in quarantine," he said.
"3 Russian Nationals Deported from Bali This Week" from Coconuts: Indonesia deported three Russian nationals this week, after they were determined to have violated the country’s immigration law while staying in Bali. According to reports, "A.G." had been detained since Aug. 13 after authorities found him initiating and sharing an invitation to a paid dance event through social media, while "P.I." was detained for overstaying his visa following an alleged robbery incident that left him without money to return to his home country. Meanwhile, local media outlets identified "M.M." as the Russian national who was detained after he was found loitering around Ngurah Rai airport in July.
"Consumption of fuel and LPG in Bali Increases" from Liputan 6 (Indonesian): The consumption of fuel oil in the Bali area in the fourth week of August was recorded to have increased by 11% compared to July... For aviation fuel, Pertamina also recorded an increase in Avtur consumption by 76%. In August, Avtur consumption at Ngurah Rai International Airport was recorded at 3,100 KL. In July, Avtur consumption was recorded at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport as much as 3,000 KL, while in June it was only 1,700 KL. Even so, this is still very far from the normal condition which can reach 70,000 KL per month.
"Collaboration Between Telkomsel and Spotify, Presenting Premium Access Trial" from Balli Puspa News (Indonesian): The leading digital telecommunications company in Indonesia, Telkomsel together with the world's leading audio streaming service, Spotify today announced a collaboration that will allow Telkomsel's postpaid subscribers to access Spotify Premium freely for three months without the need to register a credit card. This program is the first time, new subscribers and existing postpaid Telkomsel subscribers can access this Spotify offer through their Telkomsel KartuHalo bill... Spotify and Telkomsel have also collaborated since 2019 in the MusicMAX package, which provides free access for Telkomsel's postpaid subscribers to use Spotify and some prepaid subscribers, so they don't use data quota while listening to Spotify.
The View from Outside
"Bali's Move to Shut Out Foreign Tourists During Coronavirus Pandemic Sparks 'Cultural Shift'" from ABC News: Since tourism is the main source of income for most locals, the travel restrictions have significantly impacted the island's economy. According to a June report by Kopernik — a non-profit organisation based in Ubud — 81% of Balinese households have been impacted economically, and 44 per cent have either permanently or temporarily lost their jobs due to the pandemic... Gede Robi Supriyanto, a musician and environmental activist in Bali, said the figures showed the extent of Bali's reliance on the tourism sector. Tourism is the backbone of Bali and the economy has fallen because we rely too much on it," Mr Supriyanto said. He said the problem had sparked a "cultural shift," with people who had lost their jobs in tourism moving back to their home villages.
How You Can Help
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis, dozens of individuals and organizations have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to the innumerable families who have suddenly found themselves without any source of income. We've been making an effort to document and raise awareness of these efforts. We will add information on projects in this space as we are able to confirm them. If you'd like to see a list of the efforts that we've featured so far and contribute to them with either time or money, visit our complete list here. You can also see a list of projects that have registered themselves at BaliSolidarity.org. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
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