Tuesday, April 28
All travelers coming from "Red Zones" to be denied entry into Bali + Commercial operations at Bali Airport cease + dozens of health workers quarantined + Instagram still loves Bali + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Tuesday, April 28. If you find this information useful, 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 our Inbox each day. But if you would like to support my work & help me keep the lights on, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
Country-wide Numbers:
Source:
Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB Indonesia): @BNPB_Indonesia
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
Bali Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali Trends:
Sources:
Infographic comes from Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The geographic breakdown comes from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
Charts have been compiled using their data.
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the official websites of each Regency's COVID-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
The Big News
"Koster: Residents Entering Bali from PSBB Zones Will Be Immediately Returned" from Detik (Indonesian): Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stressed that people who come from outside Bali must follow health procedures. "Tightening of people from outside who will enter Bali through the entrances, both the port and airport routes. This applies without exception, including for residents with Balinese ID cards, they also still have to follow health procedures," Koster said... "For residents who come from areas that implement large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), that will be immediately returned to their respective regions because they have violated the policies adopted by those regions," said Koster.
"Denpasar Records More Cases Of Dengue Fever Compared to Last Year: Official" from Coconuts: Health officials in Denpasar are warning of the risk of dengue fever, as the city records a higher number of cases compared to 2019 with more than 800 cases since January of this year... "Even though right now we are preventing and handling COVID-19, we must also be aware of dengue fever, because there are more cases so far in 2020 compared to the number of cases between January and April 2019," Ida Bagus Eka Putra, an official from the Denpasar Health Agency, told state news agency Antara.
"With Residents Prohibited from Going Home, Commercial Activities at Ngurah Rai Airport Close" from iNews (Indonesian): With the government ban on travel being increasinly observed throughout the country, activity at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali has slowed to almost nothing. So paralyzed is economic activity there that managers of businesses at the airport have chosen to close... "For the time being we will cover with cloth and tarpaulin. Later if it is certain to be closed, it will be packed with cardboard and food such as chocolate taken home," said the souvenir shop employee, Amir. Not only souvenir shops, all airport economic activities such as restaurants have to lose money, from which the daily turnover reaches IDR 10 million to IDR 12 million per day, and has laid off its employees.
Other Headlines
"16 Medical Personnel Quarantined After Contact with Positive Covid-19 Patients" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): As many as 16 medical personnel in Buleleng Hospital have had to be quarantined. This is just the latest group to have to go into isolation; dozens of medical personnel have been forced to do an independent quarantine because they had had contact with a patient who was later tested positive for covid-19... The patient has now been treated at Giri Emas Primary Hospital. But before being taken to the Primary Hospital, the patient had to undergo treatment at Buleleng Hospital because of complaints of heart disease.
"Bali Tourism Losses IDR 138 Trillion Because of Covid-19" from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): The Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) of Bali said that Bali's tourism sector has the potential to lose up to Rp138.6 trillion (~US$9 billion) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati said that Bali was the province that suffered the deepest blow in the tourism sector because of corona. More than 60% of the Island of Gods' income comes from the sector... He also said not only the derivative of tourism such as hospitality that bears losses. The agricultural sector was also crushed by corona virus. Tjokorda claimed the virus had suppressed demand for agricultural products. As a result, food supplies such as vegetables and fruit increase because they are not absorbed.
"PHRI Bali Denies Hotels Can Operate In May" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Chairperson of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bali has denied that hotels will operate in May. "I do not think or I have not reached there, our stage towards recovery is still far," said Chairman Cokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati.
"Residents Who Checked Into Klungkung District Hospital Down 40%" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the number of patients visiting Klungkung Regional General Hospital (RSUD) to significantly decrease. This is because people are afraid to visit a hospital that is treating patients with COVID-19. While visits to the Emergency Department (ER) actually increased. This condition is considered to have the possibility of residents holding their illness long because they are reluctant to go to the hospital immediately.
"Surfs Up On Bali, But Not for Local Surfers" from The Seminyak Times: In Indonesia, the ban on surfing has occurred in many places around the country but mainly in Bali, which is one of the best and well known surfing destinations in Indonesia. The beaches in Bali until now have been completely closed... Surfers and others in the community are asking, why is Bali still banning surfing as it is clear that social distancing in the water between surfers is not an issue? Sitting in groups may be a problem and can be easily controlled, but it is clearly not a problem in the water.
The View from Outside
"Indonesia and COVID-19: What the World Is Missing" from The Diplomat: Yes, the Indonesian government has stumbled. But civil society has been rising to the occasion. News reports and analysis from Australian media have highlighted the low levels of testing in Indonesia as well as the missteps the government made in its early response to the crisis. Indonesia is not alone here. Governments across the world, not to mention the World Health Organization, also miscalculated the threat... While the Indonesian government, like all governments, continues to struggle with the enormity of the challenge, bottom-up initiatives show another side of the country’s COVID-19 response. Indonesians will confront the COVID-19 crisis with confidence together, and that is something worth highlighting.
"Bali Is World's Most Instagrammed Island" from Agence France-Presse: At a time when paradisiacal beaches have never seemed so inaccessible, in all likelihood Bali is still figuring large in many people’s daydreams. The Indonesian destination has the distinction of being the island with the largest number of hashtags on Instagram, according to a ranking established by the travel agent Tourlane and published this week.
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.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are two 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 alerts feed into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable database of flight restrictions around.
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.
Our standards
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.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.