Tuesday, May 5
Island achieves highest recovery & lowest fatality rates in Indonesia + Almost 100 swab test results from Abuan still pending + Local layoffs leveling off + STOP GOING TO THE BEACH + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Tuesday, May 4. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. Also, if you can contribute US$5/month to help me keep the lights on, that would be awesome.
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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 30-Day 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
How You Can Help
Each day we'll let you know about the people who are trying to make a difference in these difficult times, and how you can pitch in.
Let's Help Bali: Amanda Rialdi and Ellie Gee have mobilized to help people who desperately need food, and employ laid off workers along the way. They're organizing the purchase, packaging & delivery of food drops to local families. They buy from local vendors and employ drivers and hotel workers who've lost their jobs to handle deliveries, ensuring that all money raised is fed directly into the communities that need it. You can learn about their efforts in a recent ABC News profile here. To get in touch about helping, or to buy a food pack for a family, or to make a donation, visit their Facebook page.
If you know anyone who is raising funds, delivering food, organizing volunteers, or otherwise trying to rally people to the cause of assisting our neighbors here in Bali, please let us know by sending an email to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
The Big News
"Police Offering Favors, Allow PHK Victims to Cross to Java Via Gilimanuk" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): After briefly prohibiting and not tolerating crossings from Gilimanuk Port, except for the transportation of goods, now the policy appears to be a bit "loose." Officers are making concessions to select people to use the crossing service at the port, including police officers allowing private transportation (two- and four- wheeled vehicles)... According to Gilimanuk Regional Police Chief Kompol Gusti Nyoman Sudarsana, the crossings were only being allowed for laid off workers, both informal and formal work, and are accompanied by a certificate of returning home from the local police. "If people want to go home, we will still facilitate it," he said.
"Bali Achieves Highest COVID-19 Recovery Rate In Indonesia At 58%, Far Above National Average" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The percentage of positive patients recovering from COVID-19 in Bali has reached 58.67%, the highest in Indonesia and far above 9 other provinces, even far above the national (16.86%) and Global (32.10%) averages. Also, in Bali, the average length of stay of a positive COVID-19 patient in a hospital to recover is 13 days, the fastest treatment period is 3 days, and the longest is 39 days (for severe cases), while the fatality rate is 1.48% the lowest among 9 other Provinces, far below the National average (7.46%) and Global average (7.04%).
"Tens of Serokadan Residents' Swab Results Not Yet Out" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): After 447 people in Abuan Village, Bangli showed a positive result from rapid testing, all were given swab test to confirm the results and the entire village was placed in quarantine. As of now, only 276 of the swab tests have been returned. "There are 95 left over swabs," explained I Wayan Dirgayusa, Public Relations Officer at the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 in Bangli. 21 of the swab tests results so far have come back as positive for Covid-19.
Other Headlines
"Although Closed, There Are Still Tourists Breaking Into Beach" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Satpol PP South Kuta BKP officers along with elements of the TNI and Polri are playing a game of cat and mouse, finding tourists coming to beach areas, even though the Attraction Authority in Badung regency has is temporarily closed them to the public. "Indications of such incidents actually occur a lot, mainly carried out by foreign tourists," said South Sumatra BKO PP Satpol Team Commander, Wayan Suharyana... Access to beaches has been closed off by fences, but tourists who still live in Bali are known to often violate, either by jumping, pretending not to know, or breaking the signpost of the beach cover. This can be done freely, because the security officers who usually stand guard there are now no longer on guard. "Maybe these tourists want to take a shower, but we stop them. We tell them to go home and we give an appeal not to repeat their actions," he said.
"159 PMI Who Have Been Trapped On Cruise Ship Given Swab Test, Allowed to Isolate In Kuta" from Antara (Indonesian): The 159 Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) from Bali, NTB and East Java who had been trapped on the Quantum Of The Seas Cruise Ship that had been denied docking at Benoa Harbor, Denpasar two weeks ago were each given a swab test on a cruise ship. After undergoing the test on the ship, all PMI, consisting of 120 people from Bali, 27 people from East Java and 12 people from NTB, were subsequently put in the Inna Beach Kuta while waiting for the results... The National Task Force decided to allow the workers on the ship to get off in Bali as part of a policy to decrease PMI access to the island to those who came from Bali, and after the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19 in Bali Province established health protocols that enabled them to coordinate their disembarkation at Benoa Port.
"The Number of Furloughed Workers In Bali Reaches 60,251, Lay-Offs 1,542" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): The Bali Province Manpower and ESDM Office continues to record the number of formal sector workers furloughed and laid off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest data, the number of formal Balinese workers furloughed was 60,251 and 1,542 had been laid off... According to the head of the Bali Province Manpower and Energy Office, Ida Bagus Ngurah Arda, at this point the number of workers who are being furloughed and laid off had begun to decline every day. Most of the workers who have been affected work for companies operating in Badung Regency, second in Gianyar Regency and third in Denpasar. "The data is still moving now, mostly from Badung and Denpasar, other districts have not increased anymore," he said.
"Last 9 Days, Ngurah Rai Airport Serves 55 Cargo Flights With Loads Reaching Over 386 Tons" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Angkasa Pura Airports is supporting airlines that are converting aircraft that normally carry passengers into logistical or cargo transport by coordinating connectivity in the central and eastern regions of Indonesia during the homecoming ban... In Bali, these efforts have ensured that I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is able to maintain flight operations, serving mainly air logistics flights. For the period April 25 to May 3, the airport has served 55 flights with cargo cargo reaching 386,321 kg or more than 386 tons.
"PT Pertamina Offering 30% Discount On Pertamax Series Fuel" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): PT Pertamina (Persero) is providing a 30% discount for Pertamax series fuels through cashbacks for non-cash purchases. Pertamina VP of Communication Fajriyah Usman, explained that the 30% Cashback Ramadhan loyalty program is offered to consumers who make purchases of Pertamax Series (Pertamax, Pertamax Turbo) and DEX Series (Pertamina DEX, Dexlite) at SPBU Pertamina via non-cash transactions using LinkAja from the My Pertamina application in the form of a cashback LinkAja bonus balance.
"The House of Representatives Is Hitting the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Regarding Fuel Prices Not Going Down" from Antara (Indonesian): House of Representatives Commission VII member Golkar Faction Maman Abdurrahman, along wth other House memebrs, have questioned the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to explain to the public the reasons for fuel not going down in the face of historically low oil prices... However, until now there are no signs of a reduction in fuel prices amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Regarding fuel prices, previously PT Pertamina only gave a discount of 3% for Pertamax series fuels through cashbacks for non-cash purchases.
"Thinning Food Stocks, Swarms of Apes Roam In Goa Lawah Temple" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Goa Lawah Temple is visited by many Hindus to pray and also foreign tourists, but even though is has been closed due to the Cobid-9 pandemic, the caretaker and oversight committee have remained busy guarding the temple because of a herd of monkeys roaming the area... Since the dry season occurred in the area, the monkeys had difficulty getting food. "Usually there are bananas, cassava, soursop and others that grow on the hill. But since the dry season, monkeys have been difficult to find food," he said I Putu Juliadi, a member of the oversight committee. Because of that, a herd of apes, numbering around 30-40, went down to the foot of the hill. The target of the monkey herd is Goa Lawah Temple, the residents' house and its surroundings.
"Non-cash Transactions Are Encouraged To Millennials" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Bank of Bali Provincial Representative Office is collaborating with the academic community of the National Education University (Undiknas) Denpasar, to further popularize the use of non-cash transactions amid the Covid-19 pandemic by offering an online web seminar... Head of Bank Indonesia Bali Province, Trisno Nugroho, said that students from middle to upper class families are already very familiar using non-cash payment instruments such as OVO, Gopay, LinkAja and so on, and that as of April 24, the number of QRIS merchants in Bali was nearly 84,000, an increase of more than 3,000 in just two weeks, and a jump of 229% compared to the end of 2019. "We encourage non-cash because at the same time we can help entrepreneurs to survive in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
The View from Outside
"The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others?" from The New York Times: Experts are trying to figure out why the coronavirus is so capricious. The answers could determine how to best protect ourselves and how long we have to. Interviews with more than two dozen infectious disease experts, health officials, epidemiologists and academics around the globe suggest four main factors that could help explain where the virus thrives and where it doesn’t: demographics, culture, environment and the speed of government responses... In Indonesia, thousands are believed to have died of the coronavirus. In nearby Malaysia, a strict lockdown has kept fatalities to about 100. And when countries do all the wrong things and still end up seemingly not as battered by the virus as one would expect, go figure. "In Indonesia, we have a health minister who believes you can pray away Covid, and we have too little testing," said Dr. Pandu Riono, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Indonesia. "But we are lucky we have so many islands in our country that limit travel and maybe infection. There’s nothing else we’re doing right," he added.
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 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.
Common abbreviations to be familiar with:
PMI: Indonesian migrant worker
PSBB: Policy of extreme social distancing. Officially restricts forms of transportation and prohibits certain types of business from operating. Requires any permitted businesses to enforce strict social distancing guidelines.
OTG: Possible cases, with no symptoms.
ODP: Suspected cases, being monitored. People with fever or respiratory symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Tracked and placed under out-patient observation.
PDP: Probable cases, under observation. People with acute respiratory illness with at least one symptom such as cough, sore throat, congestion, light or heavy pneumonia, and travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Usually placed under observation in an isolation ward at a designated hospital pending swab testing results.
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.