Thursday, January 21
PPKM restrictions extended for 2 weeks + Imigrasi says that foreigners caught without masks will be deported after 2nd offense + Hospitals freeze admissions as wards fill, scramble to add beds + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Thursday, January 21. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Friday morning, along with each evening’s Covid-19 update. If you are already a subscriber, thank you! Please be sure to share it with others in the island community by clicking the button below.
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
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: Yesterday Bali smashed its record for new cases in a day- which had just been set 8 days ago. Denpasar alone saw more cases (218) than what the 7-day average for the entire island was just over a week ago (198 on Jan. 11). Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"PPKM in Java and Bali Will Be Extended by 2 Weeks Until the Covid-19 Case Slopes Down" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The government will extend the Imposition of Community Activity Restrictions ( PPKM ) in Java and Bali which will end on January 25, 2021. PPKM will be extended for another two weeks. Director General of Regional Administration Development (Adwil) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Syafrizal said, one of the reasons for the extension of the PPKM was because the Covid-19 case had not shown a significant decline in Indonesia.
"Bali Immigration Remind Foreigners Who Do Not Comply With Health Protocols to Be Deported" from Detik (Indonesian): The Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Bali warned that foreign nationals ( WNA ) who do not comply with health protocols (prokes) can be deported . This was done because many foreigners who were in Bali were caught violating health protocols. Head of the Immigration Division of the Bali's Ministry of Law and Human Rights Regional Office, Eko Budianto, said, "The connection with the health program is that we are involved in a team, in principle, we are in the second layer as a supporting unit, so we are basically the ones who are violated, it is related to health violations, not immigration. But it is also part of shock therapy for the initial stage. from the COVID-19 task force, they apply a fine to the foreigner (who violates the health process) then the data is recapitated to us, one of them. If then they happen to repeat the violation again, yes, don't demand the possibility that we will act our deportation that's it."
HOSPITAL CAPACITY UPDATE: The Bali Provincial Health Office said yesterday that in response to its order that all hospitals add additional beds to handle the increase in Covid patients, many had already complied, with some reporting that hey had increased their capacity by 40%. Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar said that of its 176 beds, 112 were occupied, so it has added 26 more. Meanwhile, Wangaya Hospital in Denpasar is now diverting all new patients to other hospitals because its ER and isolation wards are full of Covid patients. Bangli Hospital has reported that it is full. In Tabanan, officials said that of the 126 beds spread among all of the regency’s hospitals, 76 were filled. Over in Gianyar, officials said that across its 7 hospitals, 94 of its 139 Covid beds are occupied, putting it at 67% capacity. Officials in Jembrana have announced that they will start using the Jimbarwana Hotel as an isolation facility for people with no or mild symptoms, as self-isolation is to no longer be allowed.
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Other Headlines
"Before Returning to Her Country, American Citizen Kristen Antoinette Gray Was Flown To Jakarta" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian): The Head of Public Relations and Reform of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, I Putu Surya Dharma, confirmed that Kristen Antoinette Gray was scheduled to leave via Ngurah Rai Airport, Wednesday at 21.00 WIB for Jakarta. Henceforth, the next day on Thursday morning, she will depart for her country via Jakarta. "It's true at 21.00 WITA to Jakarta and tomorrow morning (Thursday-red) departing from Jakarta," he said.
Context: Coverage of Ms. Gray’s Twitter thread and its aftermath have flooded Indonesian media. It has even spread to international outlets such as The BBC, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Reuters, among others. Local coverage has been breathless, with journalists documenting her arrest, her packing her luggage at her residence in Karangasem, to her arrival at the airport. There was even a report of the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Taxes sending a letter to Imigrasi requesting that they assess and claim any taxes owed on money that she may have earned while in Indonesia. (Imigrasi appeared to decline the request.) The first wave of controversy stirred up by her tweets was a backlash against privilege, exploitation, and gentrification. After her statement yesterday that she felt that she had been singled out because of her sexual orientation, members of the Indonesian queer community have lashed out, calling her comments insensitive and dangerous for them.
Today’s Prokes Patrols
"Efforts to Suppress Covid-19, Satpol PP of Bali Province Gives 10 Directions to Regency and City Satpol PP" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): These various directions are to re-form integrated posts, starting at the village / kelurahan, sub-district, district and provincial levels; and tightening is done at the entrances to Bali such as Gilimanuk, Airport and Padang Bay. Then, the district / city Satpol PP was also asked to reactivate the Mutual Cooperation Task Force in the village / kelurahan by actively involving pecalang; and maintaining strict supervision of traditional / religious activities and limiting 25% of community involvement / attendance at ceremonial places / places of worship.
"During 2020, 157 Foreign Nationals Were Deported From Bali" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): "The 157 people who have been expelled from Bali during 2020, are not due to viral. So it is as if the Bali Ministry of Law and Human Rights is working because it has gone viral, but we are still working all year round," said the Head of the Bali KemenkumHAM Regional Office Jamaruli Manihuruk. Kakanwil asks foreigners stranded in Bali to follow visa procedures and not to abuse their residence permit. "We will also always be in the field, you make mistakes, yes, we are there, don't be part of that 157, in addition to that. So this year five people are being deported," he said.
"362 Health Workers in Gianyar Have Been Vaccinated Against Covid-19" from Bali Express (Indonesian): "Of the total target of 4,231 health workers, 362 people have been vaccinated," said Anak Agung Anom Sukamawa, Head of Disease Prevention and Control of the Gianyar Health Service. He added that the Covid-19 vaccination in Gianyar Regency is served in 16 health facilities (health facilities), which includes 2 public hospitals, 1 private hospital and 13 health centers spread across Tabanan Regency.
"Disdikpora Waiting for the Task Force's Direction on Covid-19 Vaccination" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Head of the Bali Provincial Disdikpora, Ketut Ngurah Boy Jayawibawa, said the education sector, especially teachers and students, had no direction yet to participate in vaccinations. "We are waiting for the decision of the Task Force and the Health Service. Vaccination is a priority for health workers and frontline personnel handling Covid-19," he said. For the teaching and learning process, Ngurah Boy emphasized that it was still using the online system, even though vaccination had started. "Teaching and learning is still online until March 2021. The districts and cities have policies. Meanwhile, SMA / SMK which are under the authority of Bali Province is still an online system."
"Still on Trial, Dewata Trans Metro is Lonely Passengers" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Head of the Gianyar Regency Transportation Service, Wayan Suamba, said that the absence of passengers was predicted to occur because currently the Public Activity Restriction (PPKM) was implemented until January 25, 2020. "So we cannot deny that the Covid-19 pandemic has an effect," he said. Moreover, at this time the bus is only in the trial phase as well as the socialization, so that it will be carried out further evaluation. "Currently it is being studied by the operator and will be evaluated, evaluated because there is a corridor, Ubud corridor 4," he said. Teman Bus has 29 fleets plus 3 reserve fleets with 32 stop points. 16 stops from Ubung to Ubud and 16 stops from Ubud to Ubung.
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.
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 only include news items from established media sources
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 try to polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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