Wednesday, June 10
Govt announces "New Normal" travel rules, incl. contact tracing app + Gov: Spike in cases due to increased testing + 3 clusters declared at Denpasar markets + Badung to get 6 new checkpoints + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Wednesday, June 10. 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. But if you would like to support my work, please consider taking up a voluntary subscription at US$5/month. Thanks!
Status Update
National Numbers:
Bali Numbers:
New Infections by Regency
Overall Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 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 Total Confirmed Cases Distribution map & Regency Numbers figures come from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
The 30-day trend charts have been compiled using daily government data.
How You Can Help
Each weekday we'll let you know about an organization or a person who is trying to make a difference for the people of Bali in these difficult times, and how you can pitch in.
BAWA: BAWA is a non-profit organisation working to save, protect, and improve the lives of animals in Bali and beyond. BAWA's core programs aim to tackle animal welfare issues from all angles. 24-hour emergency response and rescue, street-feeding for stray populations, humane population control & disease control, and community education and advocacy. In response to the economic strain felt by the entire island of Bali since Covid-19 hit, BAWA has ramped up street-feeding from two to eight teams to support local communities in feeding stray and owned dogs, and is working harder than ever to assess, medicate, treat and rescue the rising number of sick, injured, abandoned and suffering animals across Bali. BAWA relies entirely on donations to run these lifesaving programs and needs your help to continue saving lives every day: www.bawabali.com/donate-to-bawa/
Please visit this page to see a list of all of the efforts that we've featured so far. If you know anyone who is raising funds, delivering food, organizing volunteers, or otherwise trying to rally people to the cause of assisting our neighbors here in Bali, please let us know by sending an email to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
The Big News
"Government Announces Travel Requirements During Transition to 'New Normal'" from The Jakarta Post: In general, travelers are required to abide by and implement health protocols, including wearing face masks and following physical distancing measures during their trips. Those intending to go on inter-provincial trips using public transportation are required to show their ID cards, health certificates stating they are COVID-19-negative after undergoing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or rapid tests and have the government-made Peduli Lindungi app installed and activated on their mobile phones at the time of departure. Travelers arriving in Indonesia from abroad are also required to present COVID-19-free health certificates.
"Breaking Down the Soaring Number Of Positive Coronavirus Cases" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Bali Governor Wayan Koster said that the surge in the number of positive cases over the past three days was one of the positive results of the adoption of mandatory swab rules if you wanted to go in and out of Bali. "When there were 33 cases added, 12 were Jakarta people who came since a few months ago. They want to go home to Jakarta. Because Jakarta also imposed swab test requirements, swab tests were carried out here (Bali) as a condition of buying tickets. 12 people are positive. That is not a Balinese citizen," said Governor Koster... Furthermore, Koster said that specifically at the Gilimanuk Port in a month it is predicted that 30,000 rapid test kits will be used up. The reason is, on average in one day, officers merapid tests 1,000 people who enter Bali. "Not to mention contact tracing. That's all the Province of Bali that handles. Upgrading the standard rapid test to a Swab is a better preventive measure. This has become a new discipline, a new effort by the Bali Provincial Government to make our society healthier," he said.
"3 Markets In Denpasar Identified As Clusters for Spreading Covid-19" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The three markets that are new areas for the spread of Covid-19 are Kumbasari Market, Badung Market and Gunung Agung Market. This was motivated by the outbreak of two Badung Market traders, one Kumbasari Market trader and one suwun handyman at Gunung Agung Market... Denpasar City Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson I Dewa Gede Rai said that due to the cases, testing has been conducted on traders who were in close contact and also those traders who work in a 10-meter radius. Dewa Rai admitted that the obstacle was in tracking visitors who had been in direct contact with traders and the positive Suwun artisan. "Visitors are difficult to do tracking. So far, we don't know who is shopping or using his services," he said.
Other Headlines
“Badung Police to Set Up Six More Checkpoints” from The Bali Post (Indonesian): After finding dozens of drivers who’d slipped through Gilimanuk without having to present certificates of negative rapid tests at their Mengwi Terminal checkpoint on Monday, Badung Police plan to set up six additional checkpoints. Badung Kasatpol PP, I Gst Agung Ketut Suryanegara, said that the checkpoints would be set up in cooperation with local villages, with volunteers helping to staff them. “We will comb the area, because there are dozens of truck rivers and kernek without Rapid Test results passing by the inspection officers in Gilimanuk. We are worried that many of these cases have entered Badung,” he said.
"First 18 Swab Test Results for Badung Market Traders Are Negative" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Three days after taking swab tests in reaction to the diagnosis of a fellow trader, 18 of the 21 traders in Badung Market have been conformed as negative for Covid-19. The remaining 3 people's results are still pending... "The results have just come out, for those who carry out the Swab Test as many as 21 traders, a total of 18 results are Negative Covid-19, while 3 more people have not come out the results," said Director of Perumda Denpasar Sewakadarma Market, IB Kompyang Wiranata.
"Hundreds of Klungkung Residents Tested After Local Transmission" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Chairman of the Klungkung Regency Covid-19 Task Force, I Nyoman Suwirta, said that after contact tracing, 318 Klungkunng residents were found who have had contact with positive coronavirus patients, both traders and Galiran Market officers, cashiers at one of the shops in Klungkung, and others. 16 of them were declared reactive and 50 took the swab test. He noted that those who undergo swabs are not only those who have reactive rapid tests, but also close relatives or people who have active contact with corona-positive patients.
"Positive Covid-19 Medical Staff In Buleleng Was Allegedly Dengue" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): A medical worker in a private hospital in Buleleng Regency has tested positive for the coronavirus after their illness had been initially thought to have been dengue hemorrhagic fever. When undergoing a rapid test for the first time, these patients get nonreactive results. But on the second rapid test the results were reactive so it continued with swab sampling. The patient's swab was negative. But in the second swab test, the patient tested positive for Covid-19... Contact tracing by the regency's Covid-19 Task Force found that the patient had been in direct contact with another patient who was a Java-Bali goods transport driver. Further tracing has revealed seven people who've had direct contact with the new patient; each of them will undergo a rapid test and continue with the swab test if they get reactive results.
"47,074 People Have Entered Bali Through Gilimanuk Port" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Since the end of the Lebaran holiday through Monday, 47,074 people have entering Bali via Gilimanuk Port. They've crossed over in 4,257 motorcycles, 2,067 cars, 136 buses, and 19,853 freight cars. Meanwhile, the number of people who left Bali since the H + 1 Lebaran until last Monday was 31,767.
"Indonesia Records Highest One-day Increase Of Covid-19 Cases Amid Easing Policy" from The Jakarta Post: Indonesia recorded its highest Covid-19 increase in a single day with 1,043 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, a day after the government started easing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in several provinces. It was the country’s highest increase in a day after recording 993 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. The spike came as the government and several regional administrations began to loosen restrictions in a bid to begin an economic recovery under the so-called "new normal."
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 granted automatic extensions to most foreigners who are still in the country on temporary stay visas. You can see a (translated) list of all of the relevant regulations on the Directorate General of Immigration & Ministry of Law and Human Rights' website here.
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.
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.
Common abbreviations to be familiar with:
PMI: Indonesian migrant worker
PSBB: Policy of extreme social distancing. Officially restricts forms of transportation and prohibits certain types of business from operating. Requires any permitted businesses to enforce strict social distancing guidelines.
OTG: Possible cases, with no symptoms.
ODP: Suspected cases, being monitored. People with fever or respiratory symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Tracked and placed under out-patient observation.
PDP: Probable cases, under observation. People with acute respiratory illness with at least one symptom such as cough, sore throat, congestion, light or heavy pneumonia, and travel in countries or areas with local transmission, or contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. Usually placed under observation in an isolation ward at a designated hospital pending swab testing results.
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.