Tuesday, October 27
Pres. Widodo resets vaccine expectations, says roll-out will start in Jan. pending safety tests + Cost will be "no more" than Rp. 200k + Confusion reigns as prison outbreak worsens + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Tuesday, October 27. 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: Yesterday the country confirmed just 3,222 new cases- the lowest daily total since Sep. 14. However, it should be noted that numbers tend to be lower on Mondays due to reduced testing capacity on weekends. In Bali, the numbers from yesterday included three children under 10 years old, bringing the total of under-10 infections to 375 since the start of the outbreak. 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
"President Says Gov't Not in Rush to Vaccinate People Against Coronavirus" from The Jakarta Globe: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asserted on Monday that he will not allow the country’s health officials to fast track vaccination against coronavirus while showing a disregard for safety requirements. Several officials in his cabinet have hinted that emergency use of the vaccine for the “priority group” -- including health workers and security officials -- can start as soon as next month or December. The president said he is not in a rush for mass vaccination before all clinical trials of the vaccine have been concluded with proven efficacy and safety, a process that may take until January next year.
"Minister of Health Reveals Estimated Price of COVID-19 Vaccines in Indonesia" from Indonesia Expat: The provision of COVID-19 vaccines in Indonesia are set to be available independently. However, the price is still under consideration and is yet to be confirmed. Expert staff to Achmad Yurianto, the Minister of Health Technology and Globalisation, has confirmed that the price is still an estimation. “We'll not be distributing them for any more than Rp. 200,000. That's our estimate, but it's still being calculated,” they reported on Monday.
"Denpasar Freed from the Shackles of the Red Zone, Positive Cases Slope" from Bali Express (Indonesian): After several times being awarded the red zone predicate, due to soaring cases and increasing mortality rates, the status of Denpasar City has now changed to an orange zone. "It's been down since a week ago," said I Dewa Gede Rai, spokesman for the Denpasar City Covid-19 Task Force. Previously in a day there were an average of 30 cases, but recently it started to decline to an average of 20 cases per day. Meanwhile, the cure rate currently reaches 92 percent with around 10 percent of residents still being treated.
(Ed. Note: The numbers reported by the Denpasar Task Force have, indeed, been on a downward trend for the last 2 weeks after sitting at a plateau for the previous 2 weeks. You can see the daily infection totals & 7-day average for the city all the way back to May 1 by clicking here and scrolling down to the photos for Denpasar.)
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Other Headlines
"40 Inmates and Denpasar Women's Prison Officers Are Isolated" from Antara (Indonesian): A total of 34 inmates were isolated in a special isolation block, while the other six officers were isolated in hotels and under the care of the Badung District Health Office. "All conditions are good, there are 34 positive people and there are no foreign prisoners. Thankfully all of them are in good condition. There are no worries, even though they are positive, their physical condition is in good condition," said the Head of the Regional Office (Kakanwil) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Bali, Jamaruli Manihuruk... Regarding whether or not the assisted residents were moved, either at Kerobokan Prison or Women's Prison, the Regional Head of Regional Office said that the transfer of assisted residents due to COVID had not been carried out. He said, it needed a special vehicle and very careful procedures so as not to spread it to others.
(Ed. Notes: There are inconsistencies and gaps in details across multiple media outlets when it comes to the outbreak at Kerobokan Prison. This article from over the weekend said that by Saturday night, 123 inmates (91 men & 32 women) had been infected. The article above says that a total of 34 women have tested positive. This story says that 125 people in the men’s prison have tested positive so far - 7 of whom are foreigners - and that 132 more people were given swab tests on Sunday, for a total of 227 tested so far. It also confirmed the number of women who have tested positive as being 34. Meanwhile, this piece says that “hundreds” of people have tested positive so far, but no exact figures in that range are offered. Best guess from all of this is that as of last night, we can assume that 165 people out of the 627 who returned reactive rapid tests last week have tested positive. But that will most likely change as more tests are completed.)
"Prosecutors Stop Sending Detainees to Kerobokan Prison" from Bali Express (Indonesian): The Attorney General's Office has temporarily stopped sending new suspects or detainees to Kerobokan Prison. This follows that many of the residents in Bali's largest prison have been exposed to the Covid 19 virus. The Head of Pidum at the Denpasar Prosecutor's Office, Wayan Eka Widanta, was confirmed by telephone, saying that there was an order not to send new prisoners to Kerobokan Prison. "For the second handover, we will put the detention in the police detention center again. Meanwhile, the decision is final, we will take it to Bangli prison," said Eka Widanta.
"Deputy Governor Asks Residents to Maintain Distance from Tourist Objects" from Antara (Indonesian): "That's because the presence of a crowd can facilitate the spread of COVID-19 and create new clusters," said Cok Ace, the Deputy Governor of Bali. He invited the Balinese and tourists to visit the "Island of the Gods" to follow health protocols and a number of tourism industries in Bali are obliged to prepare health protocol facilities, including a sink for washing hands and soap and preparing hand sanitizer. The use of masks and maintaining distance must also be considered to welcome tourist visits.
"Workers Plan to Hold Waves of Protests Against Omnibus Jobs Law Until Nov. 10" from The Jakarta Post: Workers united under the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) have planned to continue staging protests against the controversial Job Creation Law until Nov. 10, longer than what was previously predicted by the government. KSPI president Said Iqbal assured the public that the planned rallies would be nonviolent in nature. "The KSPI and other worker unions will stage the protests in a measured and constitutional manner," Said Iqbal said in a statement. "The rallies will take place peacefully, lawfully and without anarchy."
(Ed. Note: The violent clashes that erupted on the edges of some of the protests last month resulted in a police response that, according to Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), resulted in the assault or intimidation of 56 reporters who were covering the events in the capital. There were comparatively fewer clashes at the aligned protests in Bali, and no incidents at all in a subsequent protest in Denpasar last week. No word yet on whether local unions and labor groups will organize any actions to coincide with the demonstrations planned for Jakarta. While student groups have been vocal and been the main organizers of protests here, local labor leaders have balked at calling for strikes in the past, saying that with the collapse of the tourism industry on the island, local workers have already effectively been “on strike” since April.)
"12,000 Housing Units in Karangasem Rated As Unfit for Habitation, Roofs Use Coconut Leaves" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): "There are still many uninhabitable houses in Karangasem. There are floors that still use soil. The roof uses coconut leaves, or the walls have not used walls. We get this data from the village," said I Nyoman Merta Tenaya, Head of Housing and Settlements (Perkim) Kab. Karangasem. Most of them are in mountainous areas, such as around Kubu District, Abang District, Bebandem District, and Karangasem District. He added that the local government has not been able to improve the overall RTLH due to the lack of budget.
"'Jurassic Park' Project on Komodo National Park" from Indonesia Expat: A viral picture of a Komodo dragon face to face with a truck carrying project materials at Rinca Island, one of the islands in Komodo National Park, has caused a commotion. The truck is part of a geopark development project which the government is expecting to make Komodo National Park into Hollywood’s fictional tale of a special park dedicated to research and educational tourism about dinosaurs, “Jurassic Park." One area that will undergo a significant design change is Rinca Island in West Manggarai Regency. The Komodo Island habitat will be massively transformed by the government and private investors to become a premium tourist destination.
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.
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