Thursday, July 9
30 toddlers exposed to infected midwife in Tabanan + Govt caps price of Rapid Tests + Kuta Beach reopens today + Edu Minister says schools must accommodate remote learners after reopening + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Thursday, July 9. (Happy “New Normal” Day!) 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. If you would like to support my work, please consider making a voluntary contribution of US$5/month. Supporters receive an early update on the government’s daily infection & recovery numbers each night within an hour or so of their announcement… plus my enduring gratitude!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
Regency Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
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 Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
NOTE: While the national government includes daily testing totals in its infographic, Bali’s provincial government does not routinely release this data, so it is not included.
The Big News
"30 Toddlers in Tabanan Have Contact with Midwife Who Tested Positive for Covid-19" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): After a healthcare worker at the Tabanan III Community Health Center tested positive for Covid-19, contact tracing has revealed 82 people - 61 workers at the Health Center, and 21 members of the public - who had close contact with the women who worked as a midwife at the facility. The results of the first phase swab tests for these 82 people have all come back negative. They will each undergo a second swab test on Thursday to confirm their cleared status... In addition to these people, further tracing has revealed that the midwife had also provided immunization services to toddlers. Because of that, Tabanan's Covid-19 Task Force has reached out to the families of 30 toddlers who had contact with the midwife. They, along with the people who accompanied them to their immunizations, will undergo swab testing on Thursday, making for a total of 142 people exposed.
"Health Ministry Sets Rp 150,000 Price Ceiling for Covid-19 Rapid Tests" from The Jakarta Post: “The government needs to step in on the issue of rapid test prices so that the public do not feel like they are being taken advantage of for profit,” said Bambang Wibowo, Health Ministry Director-general for Health Services. People seeking to travel by airplanes and long-distance trains are required to submit negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or rapid test results before being allowed to board.
"Implementing New Normal, 4 Entrances to Kuta Beach Will Be Opened" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The reopening of Kuta Beach also implements several health protocols such as the provision of a place to wash hands and hand sanitizer. "And for traders in the Coastal area it has not been opened so that it is easy to conduct surveillance. In addition, the Regent of Badung is also in the process of structuring zones on the coast such as the jukung tethering zone, and the zone for religious ceremonies (melasti and preservation)," said Bendesa Adat Kuta, Wayan Wasista.
Other Headlines
"Minister of Education and Culture: Do Not Force Students to Study At School" from Antara (Indonesian): "Schools must be flexible. If there are parents who are still worried that their children will return to school, they can choose to study at home and the school must continue to serve and provide subject education online or online," he said. In addition, he also reminded schools not to discriminate, both in terms of subject values and others, to students who want to carry out long distance teaching.
"Ahead of the New Normal, Badung Verification Team is Inspecting Tourism Readiness" from Antara (Indonesian): "Our team has verified 10 locations consisting of restaurants, tourist destinations, beaches and shopping centers (malls). That was the first representative and the verification process is still ongoing until all can be verified," said the Head of the Badung Tourism Office, I Made Badra... The verification system that was carried out paid attention to three aspects, including the standards and procedures for activities according to the health protocol, the implementation of training for employees, and management's commitment to consistent implementation in the operations of the business place.
"Kuta-Bali Art Market Will Implement An Odd-even System" from Antara (Indonesian): Kuta Adat Village, Badung Regency, Bali will impose an even odd system to avoid crowds at the Kuta Art Market which is planned to reopen starting Thursday (9/7), after being closed since last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic... "We have an odd-even system for shops or kiosks. So, later if the date is odd, the shops that open are also shops with odd kiosk numbers, while the even numbers will not be even. So that when there is open space between shops and one another and merchants "We have to follow the rules of the customary village," Bendesa or Kuta Indigenous Village Head, Wayan Wasista, said in Mangupura, Badung on Wednesday.
"Ahead of New Normal, Prices of Staples are Stable" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Of the 19 basic necessities, only red chilli rose in price. Red cayenne pepper Rp 21,500 / kg increased by Rp 1,750 (Rp 23,250) or increased 9 percent from the previous day. The rest prices of other necessities are relatively the same as the previous time. Among them medium rice (Bulog) Rp 9,000 per kilogram. Premium rice is Rp 12,000 / kg, sugar is Rp 12,875 / kg. Then the bulk cooking oil is Rp 11,250 / kg and packaged cooking oil Rp. 15,000 / kg... Head of the Department of Trade and Industry, I Wayan Jarta, said the price of basic necessities is indeed likely to be stable because the supply was well-maintained. On the other hand, there was also no surge in demand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was marked by restrictions on activities, such as ceremonies.
The View from Outside
"Bali is Set to Reopen to Tourists in Just Eight Weeks - But Local Experts Say it's A VERY Bad Idea" from The Daily Mail: International trave lers will be able to visit the popular holiday destination from September 11, and domestic tourists from July 31, Bali Governor Wayan Koster announced on Sunday. The island will undergo three phases to recover its economy that was crippled in the wake of the virus outbreak - with the last stage set to allow international visitors. But as coronavirus cases continue to climb in Indonesia, experts have warned there are more deaths to come and holidaymakers should move with 'caution'... Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a virologist from Bali's Udayana University, warned Indonesia was only now hitting its peak in COVID-19 cases. "The number of infections we are seeing in Bali is just the tip of the iceberg; at the same time, the number of COVID-19 deaths is increasing," Dr. Mahardika told The Australian. "I would suggest the Bali administration sit and discuss with experts, analyse the data and evaluate the situation based on that."
Non-Covid News of Note
"Garuda Indonesia Plans to Open Direct Flights to Bali from US, India, and France" from Coconuts: “[Garuda Indonesia] and the Tourism Ministry have agreed that in order to attract foreign tourists, one of the only clear ways is to introduce direct flights to Denpasar,” Garuda CEO Irfan Setiaputra said... The direct flights will connect Bali with American cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Indian cities, such as Mumbai and New Delhi, and even Paris. Irfan said the cities were chosen based on their spending capabilities.
"PLN Works Hard to Deal with Electrical Disruptions Due to Kites in Bali" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): According to I Made Arya, Head of Public Relations for PT PLN UID Bali, during the 2019 kite season, PT PLN (State Electric Company) Bali UID (Distribution Main Unit) handled 209 incidents of electrical disruptions caused by kites. So far in 2020's kite season, there whave been 63 electricity interruptions. Electricity disruption due to kites is predicted to increase until early September... Made Arya revealed areas with the most cases of power disruption due to kites were in the areas of Denpasar City, Badung Regency, and eastern Bali such as Gianyar Regency, Klungkung Regency, Bangli Regency, and Karangasem Regency. "That's almost all. What is rather absent is that in northern Bali," he said.
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 fund 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.
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. You can see their confirmation of this policy on June 11 here, and see a cringe-inducing PSA here.
Local travel website Traveloka has a helpful page with a summary of what’s needed to travel to and within the country. You can also order a rapid test or swab (PCR) test via their platform: Link
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.
The EU has launched a website to help travelers stay informed about how member states will be accelerating the reopening of their borders. Through the “EU Re-open” website, travelers can enter the name of the country they wish to visit and find out the rules that will apply after each place's coronavirus lockdown. Information on the EU Re-open website and app will continue to be updated in line with the developments of the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
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.
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.
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