Wednesday, October 21
Japan's PM agrees to create travel corridor with Indonesia + Badung receives 80% of Bali's tourism stimulus grant, 28% of national total + Largest ferry to Nusa Penida runs aground + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Wednesday, October 21. 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, trend charts, and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers in our evening update.
The Big News
"Indonesia, Japan Agree to Set Up Essential Business Travel Corridor" from Antara: President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga agreed to form an essential business travel corridor between Indonesia and Japan during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java. “We have also agreed to assign our respective foreign ministers to negotiate detailed points of the travel corridor arrangement, and reach the approved draft in one month,” President Jokowi said. Prior to the agreement on the travel corridor arrangement with Japan, Indonesia has entered into similar deals with China, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
"These Are the Requirements to Get Stimulus Tourism Grants for Hotels & Restaurants, A Total of IDR 948 billion" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Badung Regency Government received a stimulus or grant for tourism from the central government of IDR 948,006,720,000. Most of the assistance will be directed to the tourism industry such as hotels and restaurants in the keris gumi. However, hotels and restaurants as recipients must enter on predetermined conditions. For example, hotels and restaurants are not allowed to postpone taxes to local governments. In addition, hotels and restaurants must comply with health protocols (Prokes). If these two conditions are not met, the Badung Regency Government ensures that the hotel and restaurant will not receive assistance.
(Ed. Note: Of the total tourism grant from the federal government worth IDR 3.3 trillion, Bali Province received IDR 1,183,043,960,000, of which Badung Regency received IDR 948,006,720,000.)
"Police in Bali Looking Into Alleged Gang Rape of Middle School Student' from Coconuts: Police in Bali’s Buleleng regency are looking into the alleged gang rape of a middle school student by at least six people. Investigation into the case is still at its initial stages as authorities gather more information and await the traumatized victim’s readiness to provide a statement... Buleleng Police spokesman Sumarjaya said preliminary information suggests that the rape occurred at least five times at different locations. “The first incident is suspected to have been done by six people,” Sumarjaya said. “The second to fifth incidents happened in Alasangker [Village], with different people.”
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Other Headlines
"After Hitting Breakwater, the Steering of the Ferry to Nusa Penida is Broken" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Not yet a month into the docking (routine maintenance) in Surabaya, the Nusa Jaya Abadi ship managed by the Klungkung Regency Government (Pemkab) was damaged. The rudder and propeller of the ship that served the crossing to Nusa Penida were broken after experiencing a collision while leaning on the Nusa Penida Pier, last Saturday. As a result, the ship is currently unable to serve the crossing to Nusa Penida... When it was about to dock, the ship carrying passengers was then hit by large waves and strong winds. The ship was dragged towards the end of the break water (breakwater), and suffered a collision at the stern to the left. The ship's engine also died. After experiencing a collision, the officer then dived to check. He found the ship's components, a broken left rudder, and three bent left blades. As a result of this condition, the Roro Ship that serves the Nusa Penida-Padangbai crossing and vice versa is temporarily not operating.
"People Advised to Stay At Home During Long Holiday" from Antara: “The COVID-19 cases and transmission rate in Indonesia are still high. We advise the public to cancel trips unless they are urgent,” spokesperson for the Task Force for COVID-19 Response, Wiku Adisasmito, said at an online press conference here on Tuesday. Several research studies have shown the correlation between lower mobility of people and a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, he said. According to one published study (Zhou et al 2020), a 20-percent decline in the mobility of people in a city can lower the curve of COVID-19 cases by up to 33% and postpone the emergence of the peak by two weeks, he informed. Adisasmito recalled that the long weekend on August 20-23, 2020 had raised the curve of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia and given rise to new clusters of COVID-19 transmission. "This happened due to crowds in several places visited by the public during the holidays," he pointed out.
"Construction of Buleleng PCR Laboratory At 70%" from Antara (Indonesian): "In accordance with the initial target, by the end of October 2020, the lab will be completed and in early November it will be able to receive a swab specimen test," said Director of the Buleleng Regional General Hospital (RSUD), Dr. Putu Arya Nugraha, Sp.PD. According to Arya Nugraha, the laboratory will be used to test swab specimens on patients who are indicated by COVID-19. "In a day, the specimen can be tested 45 times," he said. Arya Nugraha explained that other medical devices as supporting facilities have also been prepared from partners. "It is estimated that in a day the test results will be accepted. In the morning it is entered and the results will be out in the afternoon," he said.
"After Taking on Plastic, Bali Sisters Want Bar Raised on Climate Action" from Reuters: Dismayed by the plastic waste strewn over their home island of Bali, sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen have channelled Ted Talks and international conferences in raising global awareness through a youth-led movement to try to eliminate the scourge. It was not “rocket science,” said Melati, 19, of the plastic waste problem that prompted the sisters to set up their “Bye Bye Plastic Bags” initiative seven years ago. The campaign has grown internationally, with Bali leading the way in Indonesia banning single-use plastic bags. The sisters aren’t resting on their laurels, however. Tackling climate change is now among the world’s most pressing issues, they say. “We know the urgency, we have to take action now,” said Melati, speaking from their home surrounded by paddy fields. “We need to see the bar set a lot higher and a lot sooner,” she said, calling on policymakers to take swift action.
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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We only include news items from established media sources
We do not share rumors.
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For all stories marked "Indonesian" I have used Google Translate to convert it from Bahasa. In most cases I try to polish the excerpt and/or write a short summary in proper English to help clarify the details.
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