Tuesday, December 22
Natl Task Force overrules Guv, says test results only good for 3 days + Surge in ferry crossings to avoid swab tests + Access to Kuta Beach, other tourist spots limited for New Year's Eve + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Tuesday, December 22. 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 country has set a record for the 7-day average of daily new cases for the fifth day in a row. It has also topped 200 deaths for the second straight day, and has passed 20,000 confirmed fatalities overall. The country does not include suspected cases of Covid-19 in its death count. Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers. And in case you missed it, check out Sunday’s update for a summary of last week’s overall totals, with perspective on how they stack up against previous weeks + detailed breakdowns of the virus’ spread on a Regency-by-Regency level.
The Big News
"Negative Antigen Rapid Test Result Only Valid for 3 days, Indonesia’s COVID-19 Task Force Says" from Coconuts: Travelers entering Bali by road or by sea are required to present a negative antigen rapid test result that must be obtained three days before their arrival to the province, in yet another last-minute update to travel requirements for the year-end holiday. On Friday, Bali officials say the test results - for both PCR swab tests and antigen rapid tests - are valid for seven days instead of the two days as announced earlier. However, the National COVID-19 Task Force on Dec. 19 issued a circular announcing that the rapid antigen test results are valid for three days on all forms of public and private transportation. The rule applies to all trips into and within Java and Bali.
"Waves of Land-Sea Tourists Flowing to Bali" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Monitoring at Gilimanuk Port Monday (21/12) vehicles entering Bali were dominated by private cars with police numbers outside Bali. The average private car that enters the Jakarta [license plate] number. According to a number of tourists, on the long holidays of Christmas and New Year they choose to use the land route by private car because they only use the rapid antigen test to enter Bali, so they spend less. If using an airplane, you must bring a PCR-based swab test at a higher price... Even though tourists have started to enter Bali, the number is far less than last year. According to the business manager of PT. ASDP Indonesia Ferry at Gilimanuk Windra Soelistiawan Port, the number of ferry users entering Bali in the same period this year is only 50% compared to last year.
(Ed. Note: In response to the crowds crossing onto Bali via ferry, Bali Police have increased their presence at Gilimanuk Port and are overseeing the mass rapid antigen testing of passengers as they disembark.)
"Access to Kuta Beach, Other Tourist Areas, Restricted on New Year's Eve" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): "We have conducted an internal meeting at the Traditional Village to carry out the SE and anticipate an increase in visits to Kuta Beach . We will still arrange for visitors to come to Kuta Beach not to overflow," said Bendesa Adat Kuta Wayan Wasista. "We want tourists to enjoy the New Year's Eve at Kuta Beach, but on the condition that health protocols must be implemented by them, social distancing , always wear masks and wash their hands as often as possible," said Wasista. "Kuta Beach is 4 kilometers long, so maybe a thousand and two thousand can enter. The distance can be from the south to the north," he added.
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Other Headlines
"Sex Worker in Denpasar Accuses Police Officer of Extortion" from Coconuts: A 21-year-old sex worker in Denpasar has filed a police complaint accusing an officer of extortion, with the Bali Police saying they are now looking into the case. The woman, identified as MIS, was with a client on Dec. 16 in her kost (boarding house) room when the police officer, identified as RCN, allegedly banged on her door. RCN then threatened to take her to the police station and kicked her client out, only to force MIS to have sex with him afterwards. RCN also snatched the victim’s phone and extorted her for a monthly “security fee” of IDR500,000 (US$35).
(Ed Note: Later in the day after this report was published, the police identified the suspect as Brigadier Ryanzo Christian Ellesy Napitupulu of the Bali Police. He has since been detained at the Bali Police Detention Center on suspicion of criminal acts of threatening, extortion, and rape.)
"Tourists Come to Bali, Four Positive People with Covid-19 at Ngurah Rai Airport" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): The four people had been followed up by the Port Health Office (KKP) at Ngurah Rai Airport to the Covid-19 referral hospital in Bali where they will undergo a PCR swab test. "Passengers who do not have PCR facilities in their area will still be accepted in Bali on the condition that these passengers are required to take the rapid antigen test in Ngurah Rai," said Public Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) Ngurah Rai Airport, Taufan Yudhistira. As of December 20, 34 people had undergone rapid antigen tests at Ngurah Rai Airport because the regional airports did not yet have PCR test facilities.
(Ed. Note: As of yesterday afternoon, three people have been found to be positive for Covid-19 after undergoing antigen testing at Gilimanuk port.)
"Buleleng asks for additional 2 PCR machines" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Buleleng Covid-19 Handling Task Force again wrote to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to ask for additional assistance from the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine. Buleleng wants to add two PCR machines. This addition is to increase the capacity of the swab test in the PCR Laboratory of Buleleng Hospital. Secretary of the Buleleng Covid-19 Task Force, Gede Suyasa explained that the application for additional PCR machines was intended to be able to test more specimens. Moreover, at this time new confirmed cases continued to increase and also began serving independent swabs for travelers.
"Dewata Trans Metro Bus Will Operate in Ubud which is Often Clogged with Traffic" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Kadishub Gianyar I Wayan Suamba explained that buses are given to operate in Ubud to reduce the number of private car use. Given that Ubud often gets stuck during normal tourism. “There will be many who ask, how come Ubud, which is already jammed again, is given a bus? So we will continue to evaluate this in the future. However, the aim is to reduce the use of private vehicles and to take advantage of public facilities such as Teman Bus,” he added. "We have 29 buses that are ready to serve passengers, as well as 3 spare buses which will later be used when there are buses in the repair period," he explained. Teman Bus has 16 stop points. “Teman Bus has 16 stops from Ubung to Ubud and 16 stops from Ubud to Ubung. So there are 32 stopping points," he added.
"The Monsoon in Bali Has Brought A Lot of Trash to Kuta Beach" from Bali Plus: It has become a tradition at the end of the year accompanied by the rainy season, the area of ??Kuta Beach, Badung, and its surroundings is invaded by garbage. As seen yesterday, the white sandy beach was invaded by trash. The trash can be seen piling up waiting for officers from the Badung Environment and Sanitation Service (DLHK) to be disposed of at the final disposal site (TPA). Badung DLHK officers continue to struggle to clean up the rubbish. All beach waste is collected at one point in the area of ??Kuta Beach, precisely in front of The Stone Hotel.
"Living in a Petty Crimes Paradise: Bali’s Unreported Thefts and Muggings" from Coconuts: It’s not hard to miss that many of these incidents reportedly occurred in tourist and expat hotspots in Badung regency. There may also be many unreported cases out there, owing to the aforementioned distrust toward the police, as well as people holding back due to immigration-related reasons. Agung Suryawan Wiranatha, director of the Center of Excellence in Tourism at Udayana University, said several factors contributed to the higher crime rate in popular areas, such as the tendency for tourists to be less alert and the popularity of accommodations with “open living” designs. “Those places are popular [among tourists] but they are often away from local communities, with roads in the middle of the paddy field and entrances through small alleys, foreigners love these things,” Agung told Coconuts.
"Research Results: Quarter II-2020, Internet Traffic Grew 139%" from Antara (Indonesian): The results of research conducted by digital company Akamai show that internet traffic in the Republic of Indonesia experienced an annual growth of 73% in the first quarter of 2020 year-on-year (yoy), and soared to 139% in the quarter. II-2020 yoy. "The pandemic has increased demand for content and internet services that no company had previously suspected," said Matthew Lynn, Regional Sales Director for South Asia Akamai. This, he continued, was in line with more and more Indonesians turning to online for work, shopping and study.
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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