Thursday, September 10
Infection rate worst in country, doctors call for lockdown + Outbreak fears in Tabanan govt as regency declared a Red Zone + Official warns foreigners they are subject to mask rule & fines + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Thursday, September 10. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Saturday 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 foreigner community on the island 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: The 14 fatalities yesterday is a new record for Bali, and the 4th day in a row with double-digit deaths. Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update.
The Big News
MASK RULE UPDATE: Enforcement patrols to search for people who are not wearing face masks continued across the island yesterday. Local media featured reports from Buleleng, Denpasar, and Badung (in Pererenan), where "80% of those netted were foreigners."
"Indonesia Adds 3,300 Covid-19 Cases, Bali Sees 100% Rise in Weekly Total" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia has reported 3,307 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours to take the country's total to 203,342, with the surge coming mostly from four worst-affected provinces in Java and Bali, according to the Health Ministry... While Bali is ranked eighth in the total number of confirmed cases, its growth in new cases has been the fastest in the past week. Bali's total number of new cases in the last seven-day period has jumped by more than 100%, from 565 to 1,134, according to Wiku Adisasmito, the lead expert of the National Covid-19 Task Force. The resort island recorded 174 more cases on Wednesday, taking its total to 6,723.
"Covid-19 Cases Soaring in Bali, Prof. Mahardika: Must Lockdown!" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The high number of positive cases and deaths due to Covid-19 in Bali is a concern of all parties. One of the astonishing discourses was the emergence of a suggestion that the Island of the Gods be subject to lockdown or area lockdown. The statement was issued directly by the professor of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University (FKH Unud), Prof. Dr. drh. I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika. "Must (Lockdown). Want to explode even more?" he said. Asked if there is no other alternative besides lockdown? "Basically health is number one. I see no other alternative," the virologist or virologist replied emphatically.
"No Free Pass for Foreigners: Bali’s Mandatory Mask Rule Applies to Everyone, Official Says" from Coconuts: Foreigners are not exempt from the new mandatory mask rule, an official said yesterday, after an unannounced inspection in North Kuta caught mostly foreign nationals out and about without a mask on. “People seem to think we are only ready to sanction local residents… that foreigners get a free pass,” I Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara, who heads Badung regency’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), said. “People assumed we are only brave enough to sanction local people, but this rule applies to everyone, both Indonesians and foreign nationals who are here [in Bali].”
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Other Headlines
"Tabanan Enters Coronavirus Red Zone" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): A total of 37 staff and OPD heads in the Tabanan Regency Government participated in swab testing on Tuesday. The swab tests were issued after a civil servant in the Tabanan Regency Government was positive for Covid-19. This comes as the number of additional cases across the regency continues to climb and has caused Tabanan's status to change to a red zone... Changing its status from yellow zone to red zone is justified, according to the assessment of the central Task Force starting at the end of August. "Changes in status occur along with the increasing number of cases," said I Gede Susila, Regional Secretary of Tabanan Regency and Chair of the Covid-19 Task Force.
(Ed. Note: As of yesterday, there were only four Covid-19 isolation beds remaining in all of Tabanan, with the ward at Tabanan Regional General Hospital being completely full. Hospitals there plan to add 52 more beds, but it could take up to one month for them to come online. Read more here.)
"Covid-19 Cases Increasing, Buleleng Is In the Red Zone" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Once the orange zone, spokesperson for Buleleng's Covid-19 Task Force, Gede Suyasa, confirmed that the regency has now returned to the red zone which is a high-risk zone. This happened because of an increase in positive cases and patients who died... According to Suyasa, the zoning is fluctuating. Buleleng was once designated as a red zone, but has also been an orange zone, even a yellow zone. However, the last condition, with the increase in cases occurring, is understandable if Buleleng re-enters the red zone at high risk of the spread of Covid-19.
"Experiencing Bed Crisis, Bali Involves 38 Private Hospitals to Handle COVID-19" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Since the past week, Bali Province has run out of beds for isolation treatment for COVID-19 patients. This information was conveyed by the Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Hospitals (PERSI) Bali, Dr. Gusti Ngurah Anom. In total there are 17 referral hospitals appointed by the Ministry of Health; currently all referral hospitals in Bali are full... Facing the current condition, he hopes that non-referral hospitals can serve the handling of COVID-19 patients. Several appointed hospitals have already added capacity, including Sanglah Hospital with 40 beds and RSBM adding 45 beds. "And now we, private hospitals also play a role. So adding 38 private hospitals will play a role in handling COVID-19 in Bali," he said.
"The Crossing to Nusa Penida Still Quiet, Ferry Employee Wages Cut 50%" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Sea transportation is widely used in Klungkung Regency, but since Covid-19 broke out, not only hotels and restaurants have been affected. Boat transportation services were also affected. One of the ferry boat operators, Made Sinta, said that the government had closed ferry service for more than a month as an effort to deal with the corona virus. “And finally it was opened again. Even so, it is not easy to cross by boat. Only those who have a rapid test letter (for people outside Klungkung) will be crossing the boat at that time," he said. this condition has an impact on the wages of employees. Given that employee wages are paid based on the percentage of the number of passengers who have been successfully crossed. But fortunately he has not laid off employees until now. "Employee wages have been reduced by 50%," he said.
"Indonesians Blacklisted from 59 Countries" from Indonesia Expat: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Indonesia is still implementing an entry ban for foreign nationals from a number of countries. The statement was made after Malaysia officially banned Indonesian citizens from entering the country on Monday, due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19... A total of 59 countries have a ban on entry from Indonesians, including Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, and South Africa. Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi has said that the bans are the right of the respective governments. She explained that the government has also implemented a similar policy, namely limiting general entry access for foreign nationals in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The Indonesian government is trying to lobby other countries to loosen its regulations so that Indonesian citizens can re-enter. However, many countries still refuse or have not responded.
"Indonesia Adds Twitter, Zoom to Tech Companies That Must Pay 10% VAT" from The Jakarta Post: Indonesia on Tuesday added 12 more companies, including social media firm Twitter and video-conferencing site Zoom, to a list of internet-based businesses that must pay a 10% value-added tax on sales. Among companies named on Tuesday were business networking site LinkedIn Singapore, two units of Twitter, Skype Communications, Zoom Video Communications, antivirus provider McAfee Ireland, and Microsoft Ireland Operations. The companies must start charging VAT to advertisers and other customers from Oct. 1.
"Rainy Season to Start At End of October: BMKG" from The Jakarta Post: The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the rainy season will gradually begin at the end of October for most of Indonesia following the current transitional period from the dry season. BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati said the first rains were expected to fall in the western parts of the archipelago. She also said the rainy season would reach its peak in January and February next year. The BMKG has warned the public to remain alert to extreme weather and other potential disasters, especially in regions predicted to experience an earlier and wetter rainy season.
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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