Wednesday, December 9
Election Day = massive police deployment & heath protocols enforcement + Govt predicts tourist surge during holidays, encourages locals to celebrate at home + New visa for foreign homeowners + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Wednesday, December 9. (Happy Election Day!) 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: Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
ELECTION UPDATE: Today is Election Day on the Island of the Gods, as well as in 13 other provinces across the country, where people will vote in local and regional contests. Here in Bali, seats in the Regency and Provincial legislatures are up for grabs, as well as the offices of Regent in 6 of the Regencies and Mayor of Denpasar. Police will be out in force at polling locations, as will thousands of community security officers, to maintain order and enforce health protocols. Turnout is expected to be near 85%. Tens of thousands of poll workers have been rapid tested and/or swab tested, with anyone showing positive results being replaced. Today has been designated a national holiday in order to facilitate participation by as much of the population as possible. Many businesses will be closed or on reduced hours so that staff can cast ballots. While traffic may be light on the roads, streets may be crowded near polling locations. Be sure to wear your masks while out and avoid crowds, as the police have vowed to strictly enforce health protocols to prevent another surge in cases. The government is keen to prevent the case numbers from going up just before the end-of-year holidays, when domestic tourism is expected to see a surge.
"Bali Government Tells Residents and Visitors to Celebrate New Years At Home" from The Bali Sun: The regional government is urging residents and visitors to celebrate at home to avoid a large surge in Covid-19 cases. I Dewa Gede Rai said that the government strictly forbids large gatherings as the pandemic continues. “We will deploy military and police to places that could potentially create a massive gatherings. In which case, authorities disperse the crowds” Dewa Rai added. “Anyone who disobeys this policy will be arrested and tried for committing a minor crime.”
"New Visa Options for Second Home Owners in Indonesia" from Indonesia Expat: The government is considering offering foreign citizens a limited stay visa without the need for employment or marriage. This change is stated in the draft government regulation (RPP) regarding immigration which is a derivative rule of the Omnibus Law, or Job Creation Law. In the latest draft government regulation obtained from the website of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, the wording of foreign elderly tourists has been removed and replaced with the wording “second homes.” The duration of a limited stay visa for a second home for foreigners is also longer – a maximum of five years, up from the previous two. This is stated in Article 148 of the draft regulation.
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Other Headlines
"242 Students Discharged After 10 Days of Quarantine" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): 242 students of the Bali Land Transportation Polytechnic (Poltrada) in Tabanan Regency were sent home to their respective areas after 10 days of undergoing independent quarantine at the dormitory, Tuesday (8/12/2020). They tested negative for COVID-19 after undergoing a third swab examination. So that now there are no more Bali Poltrada students who undergo quarantine and are registered positive for COVID-19. There was one Bali Poltrada student from Buleleng Regency who admitted that he still had symptoms in the form of loss of the sense of smell, even though the result of the swab examination was negative. Bambang himself has coordinated with the Tabanan District Health Office regarding his safety when returning home.
"Approaching Christmas and New Year Holidays, It Is Predicted That 387,000 tourists Will Enter Bali via Ngurah Rai Airport" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): "For the prediction of passenger movement or the number of passengers at the Nataru holiday, this time we predict an increase of 3.6% for domestic arrivals," said the Stakeholder Relations Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Bali, Taufan Yudhistira. "Meanwhile, the movement of passengers at the domestic departure terminal is predicted to increase by 6.9% compared to the previous year," he continued. The number of domestic passenger movements both arrival and departure during this period is predicted to reach 787,000 passengers, with 387,000 domestic passengers arriving and 407,000 domestic departures.
"The Crossing to Nusa Penida Starts to Get Busy, Especially On Weekends" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The crossing from Sanur, South Denpasar with the aim of Nusa Penida, Klungkung Regency has increased ahead of Christmas 25 December 2020 and New Year 1 January 2021. A significant increase occurred only on holidays or weekends. After that it was quiet again. Operators of the fast boat or fast boat crossing Sanur-Nusa Penida at the Sanur Pier said that outside of holidays and weekends there has been no significant increase. "It's still not crowded on weekdays," said Kadek Adi Saputra, Manager of one of the fast boats. "There are no foreign tourists yet," he continued. Adi Saputra did not confirm how many passengers per day cross to Nusa Penida. "A little, except for new holidays, there are around 100 people," he said. There are around 1,000 people crossing to Nusa Penida a day. While on vacation, Saturday-Sunday around 1,500 people. The situation is different than before the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, an average of 3,000 passengers, including tourists, crossed by boat from Sanur to Nusa Penida every day.
"Gianyar Is Ready to Implement Face-to-face Learning In Early 2021" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): the Gianyar Regency Education Office is distributing a form containing statements from parents of students regarding face-to-face learning, which contains whether or not they agree. Including waiting for the ability of schools in Gianyar. "From January to March 2021, we will try to apply 50% face-to-face, 50% online. So it is in accordance with the choice of parents and school's ability," explained Wayan Sadra, Head of the Gianyar Regency Education Office. The two things that usually trigger a crowd will be eliminated. Namely, school recess and canteen. "So students study without break time, after studying immediately go home. Likewise the canteen must be closed. For each school the school hours are arranged," he explained. Regarding the 50% technicality, Sadra took a study group consisting of 40 students. So, there were 20 students who attended face-to-face learning, 20 students studied online at the same time. "So the lesson is the same, only in different places," he added.
"Assess Schools for Virus Safety Before Reopening, Association Demands" from The Jakarta Post: The government must check the readiness of each school throughout the country before embarking on the controversial school reopening plan amid the recent spike in new COVID-19 cases, the Association for Education and Teachers (P2G) has said. “Regional leaders, the Education and Culture Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry should map the schools [that want to reopen] and make sure they are ready to conduct face-to-face teaching safely] in January 2021,” P2G advocacy head Iman Z. Haeri said. Both ministries should be proactive in making sure that schools were safe enough to reopen, as all parties in the education sector were important amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “They should not only ask for written or online reports. They must conduct visits to each school,” Iman said.
"There Has Been No Application for An Activity Permit [for New Year's]" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Head of South Kuta Sub-district Ketut Gede Arta, said that welcoming the New Year's Eve 2021, his party coordinated with a number of agencies to equalize perceptions related to various activities that are expected to be held in the South Kuta District area. Every organizer who wants to hold an activity must go through a series of checks by joint officers to determine whether the activity is appropriate or not. "We have just coordinated, especially anticipating the crowd ahead of the upcoming Nataru (Christmas and New Year)," said Gede Arta. He stated that so far there has been no request to organize activities on New Year's Eve.
"14 Traditional Markets in Kutsel Will Have Wifi Installed" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): A total of 14 traditional markets spread across the District of South Kuta (Kutsel), Badung, are planned to be installed with free wifi access by the Badung Regency Communication and Information Service (Diskominfo). "Indeed, the plan is for all tourist objects (wifi installed). However, residents also hope that these traditional markets will also be paid attention to,” said Gede Arta, Head of South Kuta Sub-district. There are 14 traditional markets which spread from Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Ungasan to Pecatu. The hope is that the 14 markets will be equipped with free wifi access. The wifi installation proposal has been reviewed by Diskominfo Badung. Well, from Diskominfo, it is certain that the 14 markets will be equipped with wifi.
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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