Wednesday, July 22
Minister of Law and Human Rights says that he's ordered immediate extension of visas to foreigners in Bali + Gov says he will propose new rules for foreigners to live & work on the island + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Wednesday, July 22. 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
"Minister Orders Immediate Extension of Visas to 7,000 Foreigners in Bali" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): The Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yasonna H. Laoly, stated that in the midst of this pandemic, his party had provided an automatic extension policy for visa validity- especially because at this time there are still many foreigners in Bali. "Just yesterday I ordered the Director General of Immigration as well as the Director of Immigration Traffic, Pak Cucu, and I asked Mr. Kakanwil that foreigners who were still here (in Bali) would extend their residence permit. Yes. So, I called Mr. Cucu yesterday so that he immediately telex and later, his residence permit visa will be immediately followed up," he explained. "This is also the case although there are only 7,000 left, at least it can benefit our economic activities here," he said.
(Ed. Note: While the Minister's visit yesterday to launch a village-level office opening project was widely covered by local media, The IDN Times is the only outlet to carry his quote about ordering visa extensions for all foreigners in Bali. Furthermore, neither the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, nor the Directorate of Immigration have yet released any official Circulars or statements about the matter. I am aware of the rumors floating around social media about intra-government talks concerning visa extensions for foreigners in Bali; but as per my policy, I only post official government announcements or verifiable media reports. As soon as more confirmed information is available, it will be included here.)
"Governor Koster Will Propose Rules To Regulate The Existence Of Foreigners" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian): Governor Koster promised to immediately draw up a Regional Regulation regulating the presence of foreigners who live, work and do business in Bali. "As a country we must regulate their existence, so that they are disciplined and know that there are rights and obligations that are worth fulfilling. As long as there is permission from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, we will carry this out so that there will also be contributions coming from them for Bali in terms of Regional Original Revenue," said Koster. (Ed. Note: While there are no details on any new proposals, you can find more context in the original story- which you should click through to above. Also, the government’s post about the event on Facebook also includes some additional text from the governor’s speech. You can read that here.)
"Indonesia’s Virus Cases, Deaths Accelerate After Reopening" from The Jakarta Post: After almost a month of taking gradual steps to reopen the economy, Indonesia has seen its COVID-19 cases and deaths double as crowds reemerge in virus epicenters like Jakarta. Experts have cautioned that the country is at risk of becoming one of the worst hit worldwide. Indonesia had recorded 86,521 total cases and 4,143 deaths as of Sunday, twice the cumulative figure from the previous month... The nation’s provinces have continued to experience a surge of infections and deaths, including Jakarta, where the share of positive test results out of the total tests administered had doubled to 10.5% by last week. Epidemiologist Riris Andono Ahmad from Gadjah Mada University said Indonesia could see a shortened doubling period for COVID-19 cases, possibly causing the country to become one of the worst hit in the world if there was no intervention.
Other Headlines
"Sinovac Covid-19 Vaccine to Undergo Phase III Clinical Trials in Bandung" from The Jakarta Post: A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech is set to have its Phase III clinical trials in Bandung, West Java, the national COVID-19 task force revealed on Tuesday... Padjajaran University Medical School professor Kusnandi Rusmil said he hoped the vaccine could pass the third phase as early as next January. “We are very optimistic. We expect the clinical trial to be completed in January with a total of 1,620 samples tested,” he said.
"After Being Forced to Close for Four Months, Danu Beratan Missing Rp 12 Billion" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Ulun Danu Beratan, one of the tourist attractions in Tabanan that re-opened ths week, is offering discounts of up to 20 percent and free tickets to children under the age of 12. According to I Wayan Mustika, Operations Manager at Ulun Danu Beratan, the closing of the area for four months caused a loss of up to Rp 12 billion in admisions revenue, an average of Rp 3 billion each month. "Our revenue as long as the total closed up to Rp 12 billion has been lost, not to mention the operational costs that we have to bear for one month to spend Rp 150 million. We are also forced to reduce employee work hours, so we can continue to employ all our employees," he said.
The View from Outside
"Coronavirus Crisis: Bali Party Could Be Over with Hotels Up for Sale" from Perth Now (Audio): Tourist hotspots like and Finns Beach Club on WA’s favourite holiday island of Bali could be gone by the time Australians are allowed to travel to the island nation post-pandemic. Dozens of hotels are already up for sale from Seminyak to Ubud, with WA's Indonesia Institute president Ross Taylor predicting more will follow. "It all gets back to the funding, a lot (of) the mid-range hotels are actually now going up for sale because people have just simply run out of cash," Mr Taylor told The West Live host Ben O’Shea.
Non-Covid News of Note
"Police Arrest Kite Flyer for Causing Five-hour Blackout in Bali" from The Jakarta Post: The police have arrested a 50-year-old man whose kite reportedly broke and fell onto a substation owned by state electricity firm PLN in Pesanggaran, Denpasar, Bali, leading to a five-hour blackout in three districts on the resort island on Sunday... Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Jansen Avitus Panjaitan appealed to the public to think about their location before flying kites so as not to endanger other people and public facilities. “We are taking this measure to give a deterrent effect so that people will be more considerate in choosing the location and the length of the string they use when playing with kites," he said. "Flying a kite is not prohibited, but please be considerate."
"Kites Behind Recent Power Outages in Bali, PLN Says" from Coconuts: The cause of recent power outages in Bali have been traced back to kites, with state power utility PLN now calling on local residents in the province to avoid playing kites near electricity grids... “We are urging residents not to play near the electricity grid, not only it is not safe for the individuals, it can also result in power outages and affecting other people,” Adi Priyatno, General Manager of PLN's Bali distribution unit, said in a statement. According to Adi, 74 power outages that occurred this month alone have been traced back to kite-related incidents.
"Many Schools Poised to Exceed Capacity, Principals in Bali Asked to Make Preparations" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): After the island's enrollment period, it has become clear that many schools that get new students who exceed the capacity of the study group they have. In light of this, Regional Secretary of Bali, Dewa Made Indra, has requested that the School Principals make the best possible preparations for the commencement of the New Academic Year 2020/2021. "This situation will impact on the availability of infrastructure and benches, class capacity, laboratories, practice rooms and the availability of teachers," Dewa Indra said. He has requested that principals immediately make an inventory of all school needs and carry out the process of procuring infrastructure as needed.
"There Will Be Chinese Trains in Bali, Here Are the Routes" from CNBC Indonesia (Indonesian): PT KAI will bring Chinese-made trains to operate in Bali. PT KAI President Director Didiek Hartantyo explained that trains capable of operating without rails, aka Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit ( ART), would connect Ngurah Rai International Airport to the Sanur area. This train would operate on a route along 21 Km. The distance is estimated to be traveled within 35 minutes, with a 10 minute headway. The facilities prepared are 12 train sets or train sets. Of that number, 10 will operate and 2 others will be a spare train series.
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. 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. 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.