Tuesday, November 10
Guv confirms study to restart intl flights in December, but must be OK'd by central govt + Mass testing continues; new cases push Buleleng back into Orange Zone + More contact tracers hired + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Tuesday, November 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 errors in the number of deaths from Sunday seem to have been just that- errors. Last night’s provincial update showed readjustments of the figures to match where they had been on Saturday. You can see all of the details in last night’s post. Here is the Editorial Note from that post for some context:
The adjustment/recategorization of Imported Cases since last week continues, with Bangli removing 3 of their previous cases today. It is unclear if they have reclassified them as Local Cases or if they’ve removed them from their tally altogether. Furthermore, yesterday’s reduction in deaths looks to have been a data entry or typographical error, as the Provincial Government’s infographic from last night matched up with media reports of no new deaths and a steady total of 399 fatalities. Today’s count of 400 deaths includes corrections from the Tabanan, Klungkung, and Karangasem Regency governments, plus the Foreigner category. The figures in the “Change” column after Deaths reflect the corrections for these Regencies and not new fatalities. The single new death was confirmed in Denpasar.
Finally, 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
"Rumours Fly That Bali Will Restart International Flights by December" from The Seminyak Times: Whatsapp groups were abuzz over the weekend with new information on Bali opening up to foreign flights (and possibly tourists) again come December 1, 2020. When asked by local media, Bali Governor Wayan Koster confirmed that the discourse had taken place but it was still being discussed. “It’s still in discussions with the Coordinating Minister and the Minister of Transportation,” said Koster... Separately, the Bali Regional Secretary and spokesperson for Bali’s Covid Task Force, Dewa Made Indra, said that the opening plan had not yet been decided upon and was still only a study. “This is a new study being made by the central and the district governments. Later, the report will go to the governor and central government and then it is the decision of the leaders,” he said.
"Bulk Swab Testing Yields Results" from Bali Express: The mass swabs carried out by ASN within the Buleleng Regency Government are starting to reap results. At least as many as 4 state civil servants (ASN) whose swab results were confirmed positive were netted by mass swabs. Secretary of Buleleng, who is also Secretary of the Buleleng Covid-19 Handling Task Force, Gede Suyasa, met on Monday (9/11) afternoon, explained that since a week ago, around 700 ASNs within the Buleleng Regency Government had participated in the mass swab test. Of the four who were exposed to Covid, only one person was symptomatic, so he had to be treated at Buleleng Hospital. Meanwhile, the other three were asymptomatic, so they were isolated for 10 days at one of the Denpasar hotels. These four people have tested positive for Covid-19 since last Saturday afternoon.
(Ed. Note: Thanks in part to the mass swab testing campaign, and the resulting new cases being detected, Buleleng’s infection danger status has risen from Yellow back to Orange after just 8 days. This would disallow any school reopening, which the regency’s Education department had begun to prepare for last week, even though the Regency Secretary had already said that he would not authorize any reopening until the region had achieved Green Zone status. Also, results have started to come in from Jembrana’s mass testing project, with just one police officer returning a positive result so far after 160 tests. According to last night’s update, Jembrana’s project is also testing people who are “recommended by the hospital and village” because they are showing symptoms. In yesterday’s press briefing, Deputy Governor Cok Ace said that “the government has provided facilities for free PCR swab tests of 3,000 per day.” This appears to refer to the multiple new PCR machines that will be coming online in the coming days and weeks, and is not confirmation that the island has this capacity yet.)
"100 People Are Ready to Become Contact Tracer Workers in Tabanan" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): To strengthen the surveillance system in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Task Force (Satgas) for handling COVID-19, in this case the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), recruits volunteer contact tracers (contact tracers) in every district health center / city province. Bali is a priority province. Tabanan Regency through the Tabanan Health Office has conducted recruitment and has recorded 100 contact tracer names . Later, each [of the 20] puskesmas in Tabanan will have as many as five contact tracers. However, until now there has been no further information on when this staff will start carrying out their duties.
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Other Headlines
"Covid-19 Task Force Conducts Training for 1,000 Volunteers in Bali" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The head of the Covid-19 Task Force's Volunteer Coordinator Team, Andre Rahadian, reported that the training event for 1,000 volunteers will be held until 12 November. Volunteers who were inaugurated on this day would be taught about the INARISK application from the BNPB which functions to find out various volunteer activities. "The most important key to suppressing the current spread of the virus is adhering to health protocols," he said. The volunteers are expected to work together with the Covid-19 Task Force in their respective villages.
"Bali’s Unemployment Rate Jumps to 5.63%" from Coconuts: Bali’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.63% after more than 105,000 jobs were lost in August, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported, as the pandemic continues to batter the tourism industry. In Bali, where tourism plays a dominant role in the regional economy, the province’s unemployment rate was just 1.57% during the same period last year. Last month, official data showed that the number of workers placed on unpaid leave in Bali have exceeded 76,000, with over 3,000 having been laid off during the pandemic.
"Dozens of Abandoned Bodies At Sanglah Hospital Bali Are Cremated in Mumbul" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Dozens of abandoned bodies at the Sanglah Central General Hospital (RSUP), Denpasar were cremated on Monday (9/11/2020) and Tuesday (10/11/2020) at the Mumbul Crematorium, South Kuta District, Badung. The process of cremating the body is carried out according to Hindu beliefs in Bali at the simplest level. Head of Public Relations Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, I Ketut god Krishna, said that the cremated bodies were included in the Forensic Installation from 2017 to 2020. The cremation was only carried out after all the bodies were released from the police and the Social Service.
"If There is A Big Earthquake in Southern Bali, There is Potential for A Big Tsunami" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has noted an increase in the number of earthquakes in Indonesia since 2017- from around 7,000 per year to 11,500 in 2019. This earthquake has an effect on the potential for a tsunami. Bali itself still has the potential for a tsunami. Especially southern Bali. "If a large earthquake in southern Bali occurs, it has the potential to become a big tsunami," said Head of BMKG, Dwikorita. Karnawati at the MKG Region III Central Office, Badung. For this reason, disaster mitigation is the most important thing to do at this time. Karnawati also praised that Bali is actually ready, especially Badung and Denpasar Regencies in terms of disaster mitigation.
"Dead Fish on Shore Sparks Disaster Fears" from Bali Discovery: The people living on Taman Sari Beach’s seashore in Karangasem, East Bali, were shocked when a rarely seen 2.5-meters long Oarfish (Regalecus glesne) washed ashore in the early hours of Friday, 06 November 2020. Sometimes identified as a “serpent fish” or “long herring,” the Oarfish is found in almost all the world’s oceans, excepting Polar Regions’ waters... Often referred to by seafarers as a “Dragon Fish,” the Oarfish remains in deep waters and are seldom seen in shallow, coastal areas. Widespread folklore in the globally diverse locations in which the Oarfish is found is linked to shared superstitions that this species’ appearance portends an impending threat of earthquakes and tsunamis.
The View from Outside
"The Digital Nomads Did Not Prepare for This" from The New York Times: They Instagrammed their workdays from empty beach resorts in Bali and took Zoom meetings from tricked-out camper vans. They made balcony offices at cheap Tulum Airbnbs and booked state park campsites with Wi-Fi. They were the kind of people who actually applied to those remote worker visa programs heavily advertised by Caribbean countries. And occasionally they were deflated... It turns out there are drawbacks the trend stories and Instagram posts didn’t share. Tax things. Red-tape things. Wi-Fi rage things. Closed border things. The kinds of things one might gloss over when making an emotional, quarantine-addled decision to pack up an apartment and book a one-way ticket to Panama or Montreal or Kathmandu.
(Ed. Note: I happen to think that this article is B.S., as it is all anecdotal and does not include any data whatsoever, but it's an example of the kind of narrative that people back in our home countries are hearing about those of us who continue to live overseas.)
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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