Tuesday, September 1
Worst day ever for Bali caps worst month yet for country + Jembrana hospitals, isolation hotels fill & student clinics to end as cases surge + Buleleng to implement sanctions now + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook (animation shows changes from 8:00am - 6:00pm)
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 complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines 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
"Bali Sees Biggest Single-day Spike in COVID-19 Cases 1 Month After Reopening to Domestic Tourists" from Coconuts: Exactly one month after Bali opened its doors to domestic tourism, the province today recorded its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases. The Bali provincial government reported 129 additional coronavirus cases this afternoon, bringing the provincial tally to 5,207. This includes 705 active cases and 68 deaths. Thus far, there is no official link between the tourism reopening and the record COVID-19 daily count in Bali. (Ed. Note: Yesterday was Bali's second day in a row with 3 deaths, and the sixth day running with multiple fatalities. This is the most since the first peak of cases from July 15-21.)
"Indonesia Concludes Toughest Month Yet in Covid-19 Outbreak" from The Jakarta Globe: Indonesia has seen the toughest month yet in the coronavirus outbreak with daily cases passing the 3,000 mark for the first time and Jakarta also starting to report four-digit daily rises. It has been averaging 2,143 cases since the beginning of the month for a total of 66,420 cases in August alone, representing a 28 percent rise from last month’s total. The daily total passed the 3,000 mark for the first time on Friday, followed by a dramatic surge of 3,308 cases the following day. The number of cured or discharged Covid-19 patients totaled 125,959 nationwide, or 72.1 percent of the total cases. The country is still dealing with 41,420 active cases of the virus.
"100 Indonesian Doctors Have Died from COVID-19" from Indonesian Expat: “Let’s pray that our fallen comrades get a glorious place with God Almighty, the families left behind are given patience, and their struggles inspire and become role models for all of us to remain committed to serving humanity,” wrote General Chairperson of the Indonesian Doctors Association's Executive Board, Daeng Mohammad Faqih, on Twitter... Apart from doctors, IDI also expressed deep sorrow for other health workers who had died in the midst of the pandemic. “My fellow doctors who have died in handling COVID-19 have reached 100. Likewise, other health workers who have died have also increased. We also need to pray for all our colleagues who are struggling to help care for our brothers and sisters with COVID-19,” Daeng continued.
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Other Headlines
"Hotels and Hospitals in Jembrana Full, Covid-19 Patients Undergo Independent Isolation" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Positive confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Jembrana have increased significantly. The increase in cases has made the isolation room of the State Hospital and hotels unable to accommodate all positive confirmed patients in Jembrana. New cases confirmed positive for independent isolation are decided for their respective homes, because the capacity of hotels and hospitals is not able to accommodate all positive patients... Patients with symptoms have priority to undergo treatment in the isolation room of the State Hospital. "Monitoring of positive confirmed people undergoing independent isolation at home is carried out by each puskesmas, the surveillance team and village officials, as well as the TNI and Polri," said I Gusti Agung Putu Arisantha, spokesman for Jembrana's Covid-19 Task Force.
"Emphasizing the Importance of Health, Buleleng Sanctions Will Be Implemented Immediately" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Buleleng Regent Putu Agus Suradnyana, ST explained that in Buleleng, Regent Regulation (Perbup) Number 41 of 2020 concerning the discipline of implementing health protocols (prokes) will be implemented immediately. Later this application will be more emphasized on education about the importance of health and the use of masks during the Covid-19. "The substance of this Perbup is not talking about the punishment. But more on the importance of wearing masks to maintain the health of all parties," he said... "Especially for business actors who do not comply with health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19. If after publication, they do not fulfill their obligations, yes until the closure or revocation of business licenses," he concluded.
"Operating Room Closed After Two Staff At Klungkung Hospital test Positive for Covid-19" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Two members of the operating team have been exposed to Covid-19. As a result, Klungkung Regional Hospital has had to close its operating room for two days for disinfection, according to Dr. Nyoman Kesuma, Director of Klungkung Hospital. All services involving the operating room will be temporarily postponed.
"As Covid-19 Soars, Student Learning Clinics in Jembrana to Be Stopped" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Student learning clinics conducted in schools were evaluated because positive confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Jembrana had increased dramatically. The evaluation of the implementation of the learning clinic will adjust to conditions in the field, if it is not possible to continue it will be postponed or temporarily stopped... Head of the Jembrana Disdikpora Basic Education Division, I Nyoman Wenten, said that the learning clinic in schools is for students who have difficulty using their devices to take online classes. The learning clinic has a maximum number of students who take part in one class. "Learning clinics are only for students who do not have cellphones and internet access," he explained.
"Denpasar Records New Covid-19 Cluster At Religious Event in Sanur Kaja" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): "We have just discovered a new cluster from religious ceremonies, namely Ngaben, where according to reports there are still many who do not keep their distance, including not wearing masks properly. This is, of course, very dangerous and prone to becoming new centers of spread, and currently positive cases were found at the Ngaben event in the area of Sanur Kaja Village," explained I Dewa Gede Rai, spokesperson for Denpasar's Covid-19 Task Force... In principle, Denpasar's Task Force does not prohibit the implementation of religious ceremonies. However, the application of health protocols must be even more disciplined. This is because many are carriers but don't have symptoms. "We don't know who is the carrier, because they are asymptomatic, so we must remain vigilant by implementing public health protocols," he ordered.
"11 Employees Positive for Covid, PN Singaraja Becomes A New Cluster in Buleleng" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): As of Sunday there were 11 people at Singaraja District Court who were confirmed positive for COvid-19. Of the 11 people, 1 of them were judges and 10 were staff. All of them are undergoing independent isolation, because they were classified as asymptomatic cases or without symptoms. Regarding the cluster's emergence, Suyasa stated that the Singaraja PN office will be opened on a limited basis.
"Residents Suspect Covid-19 Cases in Karangasem Are Deliberately Hidden" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Karangasem's Covid-19 Task Force has not released the number of cases [in a press briefing], so that residents are not getting official data from the government about them. As a result, the people of Karangasem were asking questions because they did not know the latest information on the case... Residents also asked why the case update was not announced again. So there is an impression that this case was deliberately covered up. One of the Karangasem residents, Dede Pratama, admitted that he had difficulty getting official information from the government regarding the development of the corona case. Chief Executive of the Task Force who is also the Regional Secretary of Karangasem, Ketut Sedana Merta, admitted that he would first conduct an evaluation regarding the case. "Tomorrow (today) we will evaluate it first," he said.
The View from Outside
"Mutated Coronavirus Strain Found in Indonesia As Cases Jump" from Reuters: The “infectious but milder” D614G mutation of the virus has been found in genome sequencing data from samples collected by the institute, deputy director Herawati Sudoyo told Reuters, adding that more study is required to determine whether that was behind the recent rise in cases. The strain, which the World Health Organization said was identified in February and has been circulating in Europe and the Americas, has also been found in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
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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