Wednesday, May 6
Deflation a risk for local economy + More health workers test positive + Tourism goes back to the future with arrivals at 2007 levels + Mengwi stadium nixed + more!
Good morning! Welcome to the COVID-19 Update for Bali for Wednesday, May 6. If you find this information useful, please subscribe and share it with others in the foreigner community on the island. Also, if you can contribute US$5/month to help me keep the lights on, that would be awesome.
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Status Update
Country-wide Numbers:
Source:
Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB Indonesia): @BNPB_Indonesia
Official updates are available from the Indonesian Government here.
Bali Numbers:
Confirmed Cases Distribution:
Key: Red = Infected | Green = Recovered | Black = Died
Bali 30-Day Trends:
Sources:
Infographic comes from the Bali Provincial Government COVID-19 Task Force (link).
The geographic breakdown comes from the Bali Provincial Government's data collection department (link).
Charts have been compiled using their data.
More details on the locations of positive cases within each Regency, as well as the number of suspected cases ("ODP") and people under observation ("PDP"), can be found in charts & infographics on the official websites of each Regency's COVID-19 Task Force:
Badung | Bangli | Buleleng | Denpasar City | Gianyar | Jembrana | Karangasem | Klungkung | Tabanan
How You Can Help
Each day we'll let you know about the people who are trying to make a difference in these difficult times, and how you can pitch in.
Bali Strong: Scholars of Sustenance (SOS), a fully licensed food rescue foundation, has launched "Bali Strong" - an initiative to combat the effects of COVID-19 by providing nutrition to those in need. SOS is committed to feeding orphanages, non-profit organizations and villages in the northeast of the island of Bali that struggle to obtain necessary nutrition. Food suppliers, restaurants, hotels, foundations, culinary professionals, and individuals can get involved by helping them stock their "community fridges" though donated food, by purchasing staples that can be delivered to needy families, or by making a financial contribution. Learn more about the Bali Strong effort and see videos of their team in actions on their Facebook page.
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
"Price Pressure In Bali Declines In April Thanks to Coronavirus, Some Sectors See Deflation" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Price pressures in Bali in April 2020 decreased, compared to the previous month. The reduced price pressure (deflation) is mainly seen in the commodity of chicken meat, air transport ticket prices , red chili, and chicken eggs. The fall in price pressures is due to sluggish demand, especially from the tourism industry due to the spread of Covid-19. On the other hand, there are no problems, both in terms of supply and distribution, causing commodity prices to decline... Core inflation in April was 0.02% (mtm), down from 0.44% (mtm) in the previous month. This decline occurred due to falling prices for most commodities, especially for canang sari, toiletries, and food. However, the price of gold jewelery is still increasing as world gold prices rise . In line with this, volatile food commodities also experienced deflation this month of -1.41% (mtm), deeper than March (-0.54%) mtm.
"More Staff At Bangli Hospital Test Positive for COVID-19" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): An employee of Bangli Hospital was tested positive for COVID-19. As many as 25 people have already been tested rapidly due to contact with the employee. Six Bangli Public Hospital employees whose reactive rapid test results were received on Tuesday. Apparently, two of them tested positive for COVID-19... Public Relations Officer for the Bangli District COVID-19 Task Force, I Wayan Dirgayusa, said the swab test was carried out Tuesday morning. Of the six employees who were interviewed, two of them test results have come out with positive results. "While the other four have no answer," he said.
"Governor Koster Claims Bali Can Control COVID-19 Without PSBB" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): According to Governor I Wayan Koster, Bali Province can still control the rate of transmission of the pandemic even though it does not implement Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). So far, the handling of COVID-19 in Bali Province is considered good. So that the additional number of positive patients can be controlled, increasing patients who recover, and restrain the rate of patients who die. "Even though Bali does not do PSBB, we can still control the increase in the number of positive patients. Increase the recovery and keep the dead, the rate of people who die, "said Koster... "The recovery rate is increasing; it means that the health care provided in the hospitals by our medical personnel is good. This is certainly related to policy, and the important thing is that those who die do not add up," he continued.
Other Headlines
"Isolated Bondalem Village In Bali Supplied with 30 Tons of Rice" from iNews (Indonesian): Supplies have begun to be distributed to Bondalem Village in Tejakula District, Buleleng Regency, Bali, which has been put into 14-day isolation after 14 local villagers tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend... As many as 30 tons of rice have been sent to residents of Bondalem Village. Furthermore, the rice sent by the Bali Bulog will be distributed to affected villagers.
"National Prices Hold Steady: April 2020 Inflation At 0.08%" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded an inflation rate in April 2020 of 0.08%, slightly slowed compared to the previous month which recorded 0.10%. March's rate was driven mostly by increases in the price of gold jewelery, chicken eggs and sugar. Meanwhile, inflation in April was also slightly lower than April 2019 which was recorded at 0.11% because it was influenced by an increase in air transport rates... The inflation rate in April 2020 of 0.08% was influenced by increases in prices of three commodities, namely shallots, gold jewelery and sugar.
"Volume Of Waste In Buleleng Falls 5.4% Per Day" from Antara (Indonesian): The volume of waste produced in Buleleng Regency, Bali, is experiencing a decline of up to 5.4% per day due to many factors, one of which is the existence of market operational restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Head of the Environment Agency of Buleleng, Putu Ariadi Pribadi, said the volume of waste recorded at Bengkala Final Disposal Site (TPA) from March 14 to April 30 reached 403 cubic meters per day... Ariadi said that the decline in the volume of waste was triggered by a number of factors, one of which was due to the policy of the Regent of Buleleng regarding operational restrictions on the market from 08:00 - 16:00. "Including other factors that also affect such as school holidays, campus holidays, then the implementation of work from home," he said.
"Tourism Rates Fall to 2007 Levels" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in March 2020 experienced a sharp decline, in which this was the impact of several policies due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "In March 2020, the number of foreign tourists dropped dramatically. And now the number is only 470,900 foreign tourists. If we trace historical data, the number of foreign tourists is almost the same as in 2007," BPS Head Suhariyanto said... The number of foreign tourist arrivals in March 2020 decreased 45.5% compared to February 2020, and it is down 64.11% from last year. Suhariyanto said that the decline in foreign tourist arrivals occurred in almost all of the airport's main doors in Indonesia, including at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport down 64.72%, at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport down 75%, and Kualanamu Airport Medan down 64.11%.
"Mengwi Stadium Project Postponed" from The Bali Post (Indonesian): Plans for the construction of the Mengwi Stadium have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Badung Regency Government shifting the project budget in order to focus on tackling the Coronavirus outbreak... The stadium is planned to be a venue for Badung's hosting fo the the Bali XV Provincial Sports Week (Porprov) in 2021.
"Unud Prepares 3 SBMPTN Examination Places, Distance of Computers Is Set At Minimum Of 1.5 Meters" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): Udayana University (Unud) will hold a Computer-Based Writing Test for the Joint Selection to Enter State Universities (UTBK SBMPTN). The examination will be carried out with adjustments according to the advice of the College Entrance Test Institute (LTMPT)... Unud Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Nyoman Gde Antara said that the campus was preparing a room with computers and so on (work stations). In addition, social or physical distancing is still applied in a room where the distance from one computer to another is set at a minimum of 1.5 meters. "Supervisors, the person in charge of the room and technicians for each room are also being prepared," he said.
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.
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.