Thursday, June 18
Police & army prepare for stricter Denpasar checkpoints + 1 member of Buleleng DPRD staff tests positive + On worst day yet for new cases (47), govt releases swab test numbers, plans new labs + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Thursday, June 18. 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:
New Infections by Regency
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
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.
The Big News
"Bali Administration Mulling Plan to Include Police, Military Personnel to Enforce Health Protocols In Traditional Markets" from Coconuts: Police and military personnel may be deployed to traditional markets across Bali to step up monitoring and ensure compliance of existing health protocols, an official said, following the increase of locally transmitted coronavirus cases that now make up nearly 60 percent of the provincial total... "We need a strong monitoring effort and control around traditional markets involving the military and police, so that [they can] reassert health protocols to those who aren’t complying," Dewa Made Indra, regional secretary of the Bali administration, said yesterday.
"After Swab Tests On Monday, One Person On Buleleng Legislature’s Leadership Staff Tests Positive for Covid-19" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): One of 10 members of the Buleleng Legslature's (DPRD) leadership and staff has tested positive for exposure to covid-19. The group was tested after a member of the Bali Governor's Expert Group, who is also on the Expert Team of the Buleleng Regional Legislative Assembly, was confirmed positive by Covid-19. The Regency's medical team has isolated the patient at Giri Mas Primary Hospital.
"Denpasar Records Surge in Covid-19 Positive Cases of 30 People, 8 People Recover" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The positive cases of Covid-19 include... four women ages 17, 61, 49 and 18 years and eight men aged 26, 42, 18, 15, 36, 11, 50, and 47 years old from Pemecutan Kelod Village; as well as five men aged 76, 45, 48, 7 and 70 years and five women aged 19, 15, 40, 17, and 13 years from Padangsambian Kelod Village. (Ed. note: 25 of the 30 cases confirmed in Denpasar yesterday were located in the 2 newest clusters where most residents are being tested. Additional details can be found here.)
Other Headlines
"Rapid Tests to Be Charged At Ports from [Today]" from The Seminyak Times: The Bali Covid-19 Task Force will no longer provide free rapid tests for logistical vehicle crews at Gilimanuk and Padangbai ports from Thursday (6/18). "The termination of the free rapid test service will begin at 8am," Bali Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Dewa Made Indra said in a press statement on Wednesday.
"Meeting Menparekraf, Governor Koster Affirms Bali Not Ready to Open Tourism for International Tourists" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster stressed that Bali will not reopen the tourism faucet, especially for international tourist visits, because the island still focusing its efforts on accelerating the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic; and, more recently, cases of local transmission are likely to increase. The affirmation was conveyed by Governor Koster when receiving a working visit of the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf), Wishnutama Kusubandio.
"A Total Of 21,723 Samples Have Been Tested in Bali" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Head of Bali's Provincial Health Service, Dr. Ketut Suarjaya, said that in the last three months (April, May and June), the total number of samples tested by the island's labs is 21,723, with an increasing number of cases over the last two months coming as contact tracing has accelerated... The operation of three laboratories with a capacity of 24,640 tests per month, namely three devices in Sanglah Hospital with a 600 Swab-PCR test capability per day, requires that medical personnel at the hospital implement a priority system for patients in quarantine, ODP, PMI and ABK new arrivals as well as emergency travelers.
"As Positive Case in Bali Increase to 47, Swab Results Come Too Late" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): According to the Chairperson of Balis COvid-19 Task Force, Dewa Made Indr, the delivery of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)-based swab results has slowed lately. This is because the number of cases is increasing. He said that this is not simple to settle. If there is a buildup of samples due to the number of patients, the relevant medical personnel who are on duty must make the shift of the sample to another laboratory. So the Swab-PCR test results will not be too long. This is also done so as not to cause new problems downstream, especially in quarantine.
"Bali Provincial Government Prepares Two Additional Laboratories for Swab Sample Testing" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): These two additional laboratories in order to provide optimal service to patients, more recently swab sample tests have slowed due to an increasing number of cases. The two laboratories that will be equipped with equipment for testing PCR-based swab test samples will be at the Bali Mandara Hospital (RSBM) and UPTD Bali Provincial Health Laboratory Office. Both of these laboratories are expected to actively test swab samples in early July 2020.
"Garuda to Drop Face Masks After Passengers Complain They Can't See Cabin Crew's Smiles" from The Jakarta Post: National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is planning to replace the face masks worn by its flight attendants with an alternative form of personal protective equipment (PPE) after passengers complained that the masks affected their perception of the cabin crew’s hospitality... Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra said the company received many complaints from passengers saying that they could not see the faces of the cabin crew clearly when they had face masks on.
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.
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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