Wednesday, July 15
Feds to require face masks in public + Island govt trying to stop outbreaks by testing 1,000+ election workers & banjar residents + Traders banned from Denpasar market after refusing tests + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Wednesday, July 15. Please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. I happily put this daily newsletter together as a public service, and it will be free so long as the current emergency lasts. *A paid subscription is NOT required to access this content.* When signing up, select the "None" option and you'll get it delivered to your Inbox each day. If you would like to support my work, please consider making a voluntary contribution of US$5/month. Supporters receive an early update on the government’s daily infection & recovery numbers each night within an hour or so of their announcement… plus my enduring gratitude!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
Regency Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
30-Day Trends:
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under in-patient observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the websites of each Regency's Covid-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
Sources:
The national update comes from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency: @BNPB_Indonesia
The Bali Numbers infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
NOTE: While the national government includes daily testing totals in its infographic, Bali’s provincial government does not routinely release this data, so it is not included.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION NOTE: The Directorate of Immigration has updated their website with the list of visa types that can be extended. You can find it here- scroll down halfway to the heading "Foreign nationals still residing in Indonesia due to suspending departure and ITAS & ITAP holders overseas". (Note that those who have entered via a free Visa On Arrival are not able to extend their stays beyond August 12.) If you reside in Badung Regency, from the southern end of the island up to North Kuta, you need to make an appointment with the Immigration office in the Airport before you go in. You can make your appointment here.
"Indonesia to Make Face Covering in Public Compulsory" from The Jakarta Globe: The Indonesian government is drafting a regulation that will make the wearing of face mask in public compulsory during the coronavirus outbreak, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Monday. The president said the new rule will carry sanctions against any violation of the health protocol... "We are preparing sanctions because until today we have to deal with a lack of discipline among the people in observing the health protocol,” Jokowi said at the presidential office in Jakarta. "For instance, a survey has indicated that in a province, 70 percent of residents don’t wear face masks. How could this happen?” he said.
"Hundreds of Election Workers in Bangli Take Rapid Tests, 5 are Reactive" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): After one person tested positive for Covid-19, and in preparation for their work in villages across the regency, a total of 555 voter data updating officers (PPDP) in Bangli have undergone rapid testing for the virus, with 13 more scheduled to be tested today. 5 people have returned receive results and will receive follow-up swab tests.
"After Second Mass Rapid Test, 11 Banjar Munduk Residents Reactive" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): After being in Quarantine since July 3, the health of the 767 residents of Banjar Munduk, Kaliakah Village, in Jembrana is being checked. The rapid test is conducted to determine the results of the quarantine before it ends, on Thursday. After an initial case was found in the area, 7 people have been confirmed to be co-19 positive. Among the second round of rapid tests, 11 people have returned reactive results and will receive follow-up swab tests.
Other Headlines
"After Rejecting Swab Tests, 16 Traders in Abiantimbul Market Have Stalls Closed" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Their sales stands will be reopened if they are willing to take the swab test. Spokesperson for Denpasar's Covid-19 Task Force, I Dewa Gede Rai, said that it was possible that the traders refused to take the swab tests out of fear... After a trader in the market tested positive for Covid-19, contact tracing resulted in 25 traders who needed to be tested, 6 of whom also tested positive for Covid-19. Further tracing found 16 additional traders who had direct contact with the victims, so on Monday the plan was for the 16 traders to be swab tested, but they refused the test.
"Health Ministry Scraps ODP, PDP Terminology in New Covid-19 Guidelines" from The Jakarta Post: The Health Ministry issued new guidelines for COVID-19 handling and prevention on Tuesday, revising a number of terms to be in line with World Health Organization (WHO) definitions... The guidelines scrap the local terms “people under observation” (ODP) and “patients under surveillance” (PDP) in favor of “suspected” and “probable” cases, and also expand the definition of COVID-19 deaths "for surveillance purposes" to include the deaths of probable cases.
"Widespread Use of Rapid Tests in Virus-stricken Indonesia Raises Questions" from The Jakarta Post: Post-market surveillance on rapid antibody test brands used in the country carried out by the Association of Indonesia's Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine specialists (PDS PatKLIn) showed that many of them had sensitivity and specificity lower than 50%, the association's chairwoman, Aryati, said. "With low sensitivity, chances of false negatives are high [...] While with low specificity, chances for false positives are high," Aryati, also a professor at Surabaya’s Airlangga University, told The Jakarta Post... The PDS PatKLIn issued a recommendation on July 6 for the COVID-19 task force not to require rapid tests for travelers, citing that the possibility of false negatives and positives "could have dangerous and harmful impacts". It also recommended against requiring polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as its sensitivity was only at between 60 and 80%, and given the time lag between samples taken and results announced -- which could be up to three weeks.
"Ahead of the Adaptation of the New Custom Order, the Police Call On Boat Passengers to Adhere to Health Protocols" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): Klungkung Police Personnel assembled around traditional port in the Satgas Aman Nusa District to appeal to the public, visitors, and passengers of boat crossings to follow health protocols and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus along the Kusamba Coast. "The activity is carried out in anticipation of the spread of the corona virus and preventing public unrest and panic so that it can cause disruption of kamtibmas," said Kbo Sat Pol Iptu I Pol Air Yede.
The View from Outside
"More Than A Month's Salary for A COVID Test? Welcome to Indonesia" from The Sydney Morning Herald: Indonesia President Joko Widodo on Monday demanded testing rates increase to 30,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests a day, a 50 per cent increase, and for more labs to be opened in hard-hit provinces including Jakarta, East and West Java... In Bali, Unud Hospital charged $100 for a PCR test and Siloam private hospital charged $250. Less accurate rapid tests, which detect antibodies for COVID-19, are more affordable and ranged in price from $15 to $60, even though the government recently ordered the price be fixed at $15.
Non-Covid News of Note
"Ubud in Bali Among World's 'Best Cities to Visit'" from The Jakarta Post: Nestled in Gianyar regency, Bali, the little town of Ubud never loses its charm. Its latest global recognition proves just that, as the town was included among the Best Cities in the World to Visit: World’s Best 2020 list released by American travel publication Travel+Leisure. In the survey, Ubud ranked 9th with a score of 88.16, right between Luang Prabang in Laos and Istanbul in Turkey, which secured the 8th and 10th positions respectively.
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 fund 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.
Resources
Important information for foreigners who are staying on the island, such as designated COVID-19 hospitals and emergency contact numbers, can be found by following this link.
The government has cancelled its visa-on-arrival process and rolled out enhanced entry requirements for people traveling to Indonesia; they have also cancelled the automatic Emergency Stay Permit program that had been extended to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant entry regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here. Scroll down halfway to the heading "Foreign nationals still residing in Indonesia due to suspending departure and ITAS & ITAP holders overseas" to see their list of which visas can still be extended. Follow them on social media to receive policy updates as soon as they are released: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Local travel website Traveloka has a helpful page with a summary of what’s needed to travel to and within the country. You can also order a rapid test or swab (PCR) test via their platform: Link
The British Embassy in Jakarta has recently posted a great summary of the Indonesian government's travel restrictions on their Facebook page. You can read it here.
The EU has launched a website to help travelers stay informed about how member states will be accelerating the reopening of their borders. Through the “EU Re-open” website, travelers can enter the name of the country they wish to visit and find out the rules that will apply after each place's coronavirus lockdown. Information on the EU Re-open website and app will continue to be updated in line with the developments of the coronavirus pandemic.
If you are trying to plan travel anywhere, here are some of the best up-to-date resources that can help you:
IATA Travel Center Update - The International Air Transport Association is the global lobbying body for the aviation industry. Their Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) database feeds into airlines' reservation systems, so it is the most reliable list of flight restrictions around.
Revolver Maps' Travel Restrictions Database - This list pulls directly from IATA's Timatic database and arranges the countries in lists that are easier to navigate and creates share-able links for every country. NOTE: This is a third-party service and they warn that the updates to their system can be delayed by several hours for certain countries.
Al Jazeera Travel Restriction & Border Shutdown Tracker - A companion list that includes less technical summaries of each country's travel restrictions, beyond just flights and airport access.
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Migration Media, the hub for stories from and about the international migrant experience.
Our standards
We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
We do not include opinion pieces or forecasts.
For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I will polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
For any questions, comments or tips, please contact us at newsletter@migrationmedia.net.