Tuesday, November 3
Thousands fly & drive to island over weekend + With Buleleng now a Yellow Zone schools look to reopen, but Task Force wants to wait + Deflation persists in Denpasar + more!
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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: Click here to see the national numbers infographic, trend charts, and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers in our evening update. 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
"Long Holidays, Domestic Passenger Visits to Bali Increase Sharp" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): During the long holiday, thousands of domestic tourists visited Bali through I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport. On Sunday, there were 11,541 passengers leaving Bali through the domestic departure terminal. This number is still predicted to increase, given the backflow of the long holiday that has not ended. Communication and Legal Manager of AP I Ngurah Rai Andanina Dyah Permatasari Mega, explained that on Sunday, arrivals in Bali through the domestic arrival terminal reached 5,652. He continued, from 25 October to 1 November the total domestic arrivals to Bali reached 48,120 passengers. "For the same period, those who left Bali reached 43,591," he said.
(Ed. Note: Final passenger numbers for the weekend were 73,817 - 38,115 arrivals & 35,702 departures - a 63% jump in volume since the last holiday weekend in August. Crowds materialized across the island over the weekend, with heavy traffic and crowded streets seen in many tourist-heavy areas. Even as late as Monday, beaches in Sanur were thick with visitors. Hotels reported more bookings, with government-owned sites in Nusa Dua hitting a 23% occupancy rate at the weekend’s peak. Sites like Ulun Danu Beratan Temple & Tanah Lot each hosted thousands of visitors, while demand for ferries to Nusa Penida caused operators to in Sanur to bring more boats online to accommodate the crowds. In addition to the air passenger numbers noted above, traffic was robust at Gilimanuk Port. Thursday alone saw over 4,000 vehicles cross into Bali, and more than 4,400 vehicles were recorded headed back to Java on Saturday. Full weekend numbers are not yet available, but as large as this influx seems after months of lockdowns and shutdowns, the traffic was on par with normal cross-strait flows on a pre-pandemic non-holiday weekday. While the influx of visitors is providing a badly-needed economic boost - even North Bali hotels reached 20% occupancy in some areas - epidemiologists are warning about a possible new wave of infections being touched off by so many people coming to the island. In West Java, 408 tourists tested positive for Covid over the weekend, sparking fears of a renewed outbreak there.)
"With Buleleng Entering Yellow Zone, Disdikpora Immediately Applies for School Opening Permits" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The Buleleng Youth and Sports Education Agency (Disdikpora) will immediately apply for permits to open schools during the pandemic. Given that currently Buleleng is already in the yellow zone. By opening schools, Disdikpora believes that children's education will be more secure. Head of Buleleng Disdikpora Made Astika said his party was currently preparing a study to open schools. The study will be submitted to Buleleng Regent Putu Agus Suradnyana and the Covid-19 Handling Task Force. The results of the study will be one of the considerations for the task force and the government to open schools.
(Ed. Note: In response to this move, Buleleng’s Regional Secretary and head of its Covid-19 Task Force, Gede Suyasa, said that due to the volatility of infection rates and the dangers of a new spike, face-to-face learning should only resume once the Regency had achieved Green Zone status. However, he will move forward with the study and forward the results to the Provincial Government if Yellow Zone status is maintained for another full week.)
"In October, the City of Denpasar and Singaraja Experienced Deflation" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Denpasar City experienced deflation as deep as -0.25% as indicated by a decrease in the Consumer Price Index (base year 2018 = 100) from 103.63 in September 2020 to 103.37 in October 2020. Meanwhile, the deflation rate for the current year in October 2020 was recorded as deep as -0.27% and the year-on-year inflation rate (October 2020 against October 2019 or YoY) was recorded as high as 0.49%... Of the eleven expenditure groups, four expenditure groups recorded deflation, namely group IV (equipment, equipment and routine household maintenance) at -2.96%; group VI (transportation) as deep as -0.34%; group III (housing, water, electricity, and household fuel) at -0.16%; and group XI (personal care and other services) at -0.07%.
(Ed. Note: This is an important number to watch for anyone interested in the local economy. While it may seem like a good thing that prices for groceries and other essential items are dropping along with restaurant meals and stays at luxury resorts, sustained deflation is actually a more pernicious - and dangerous - consequence of a downturn than inflation. It's complicated. You can listen to a quick, 2-minute explainer on deflation here, and a more in-depth exploration (~20 minutes) of the different effects of each trend here. Both are worth your slightly-less-valuable time.)
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Other Headlines
"After Swab Tests, 181 Prisoners of Kerobokan Badung Prison Positive for Covid-19" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): A total of 181 Kerobokan Prisoners, Badung Regency , Bali , were confirmed positive for Covid-19 . The condition of the assisted residents was known from the results of the swab test that was held. Head of Kerobokan Prison , Yulius Sahruzah explained, positive prisoners are now isolated in the prison hall and Kuta block. Their condition is healthy because they have contracted the Corona virus with the category of people without symptoms (OTG). "That is the final result. There are no more additions," said Yulius.
"Hundreds of Badung Police Members Swabbed" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): In order to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 within the National Police, hundreds of Badung Police personnel carried out a swab test at Mangupura Mengwi Hospital on Monday. "We are doing this to prevent Covid-19 to members of the Badung Police and Polsek ranks and to find out whether the personnel are really healthy or vice versa," said the Head of the Sumda Badung Police, Kompol Ni Luh Putu Indra Puspani, S.Sos, M.Ap. Kompol Indra Puspani said the activities were divided into two waves, namely the 2nd and 3rd of November.
(Ed. Note: Jembrana Police have also begun a program to swab test all of its officers over the next 2 weeks. This comes in addition to previously-announced efforts to test all government employees in Buleleng, and all workers at the Provincial Government headquarters. Testing capacity is increasing on the island, with a new testing lab in Buleleng coming online this week.)
"Workers Return to Street to Protest Against Jobs Law, Demand Wage Hike" from The Jakarta Post: Protests against the Job Creation Law have entered their fifth week in Jakarta as workers stage yet another rally near the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta to voice their opposition to the controversial law and the government’s decision not to increase the minimum wage. Protestors from 32 labor unions, such as the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI) and the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) flocked to Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, located around 1 kilometer from the Palace, on Monday. Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said he had deployed 7,766 security personnel to safeguard the rally in the capital city.
"Bali PP Police Find 300 People Without Test Results At Gilimanuk Over the Last Month" from Bali Express (Indonesian): According to Head of Satpol PP of Bali Province, Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, at least 300 domestic travelers who made the crossing to Bali Island via Gilimanuk Port, Jembrana were caught not carrying a non-reactive Covid-19 certificate (suket) based on the results of the rapid test or rapid test.
"Indonesia Plans to Bring Together Nine State-run Companies Including Garuda Under One Holding Company" from Bali Plus: The Indonesian government has put together a plan to bring together nine state-run companies, including flag air carrier Garuda Indonesia, low-cost airline Citilink and companies that run major tourism sites, under a holding company... The goal of the integration is to create synergies among the state-owned enterprises. With airlines, airports and tourism companies operating under a single umbrella, the parent company the aim is to eliminate vertical barriers and enable them to offer cheaper travel packages to travelers.
"Indonesia Records Over 153,500 Tourist Arrivals in September: BPS" from Antara: Indonesia received more than 153,500 foreign tourists in September, 2020, a decline of 5.94% compared to the previous month, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said. Tourist arrivals in September this year plunged 88.95 percent compared to 1.39 million in the same month last year, BPS chief Suhariyanto said. 9,970 of the 153,500 tourists traveled to Indonesia by air, 48,460 by sea, and 95,070 by land. The number of tourists traveling to Indonesia by air plunged 98.89% in September this year compared to the same month last year.
(Ed. Note: Due to travel restrictions & quarantine procedures, almost all international arrivals have been diverted to Jakarta, with a health check and transfer required there. Domestic arrivals to Bali in September were up compared to August - 177,620 vs. 174,462 - but total tourist arrivals are down 99% from last year.)
"Buleleng Hospital New Polyclinic Building Needs IDR 103 Billion" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The planned construction of the Buleleng Hospital Polyclinic building designed by the Buleleng Regency Government to maximize Buleleng public health services requires a budget of IDR 103 billion. The amount of budget needed to build this new Polyclinic building is included as one of the proposed applications for a National Economic Recovery (PEN) loan... President Director (Dirut) of Buleleng Hospital, Dr. Putu Arya Nugraha, said that if the PEN loan is approved by the central government, the construction of a new Polyclinic building will be built in 2021. The existing polyclinic building is a patchwork between the buildings. So that the circulation of service is not good. The old Polyclinic building will be demolished to the Blood Donation Unit (UDD) building. "The old building will be leveled and used as a parking space, so that later there will be no patient's vehicle or patient's family parking by the side of the road, everything is inside," explained the President Director
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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