Wednesday, October 28
E-visa website officially open to overseas applicants + Free swab tests at 11 health centers in Denpasar + Multiple mass swab testing programs launch as daily infection numbers decline + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Wednesday, October 28. (Happy Mawlid to all who celebrate!) 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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PUBLICATION NOTICE: In observance of the extended Mawlid holiday, the daily news update will be dark from tomorrow through Sunday. The daily Covid-19 numbers update will continue to publish each evening as usual, however. The news update will return on Monday, November 2. I won’t be on the road (I’m heeding the Bali government’s advice to stay away from tourist attractions), so if major news breaks that effects foreigners I’ll be able to publish a mini-issue as needed. Enjoy the holiday!
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
IMMMIGRATION UPDATE: "Indonesia Launches E-visa for Foreign Visitors" from The Jakarta Post: The Law and Human Rights Ministry has launched an online visa application for foreign citizens who wish to enter Indonesia. Those who intend to apply for the visa must fill in their personal information and purpose for travel on the website visa-online.imigrasi.go.id. If their application is granted, they will receive an approval letter by e-mail.
"11 Puskesmas in Denpasar Prepare Free Swab Test Services" from Berita Bali (Indonesian): Head of Denpasar's City Health Office, Dr. Luh Putu Sri Armini, confirmed the announcement that one of the Puskesmas in the Denpasar area provided a free swab test service , aka it was free of charge. He further said, the overall free swab test will be available at 11 Puskesmas in Denpasar. This was done to trace cases or "tracing" of residents who had close contact so that the positive ones could quickly be identified so that they could be quickly handled and followed up. Armini appealed to people who had close contact 2 days before the patient became symptomatic and in the future they were welcome to swab to the nearest health center with evidence of positive results and were invited to close contact. Especially for people who have symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fever, coughs and colds, they need to seek treatment immediately and do a swab.
(Ed. Note: It is not 100% clear from the translation, but it appears that this free service is being made available only to people who are experiencing symptoms, or who have been exposed to somebody who has recently tested positive. There is no mention in the article about certificates that would be valid for travel being issued, or whether they will even accommodate foreigners at all. The story also does not list which healthcare centers will be administering the free tests. If you are experiencing symptoms or have been in recent contact with somebody who has tested positive for Covid, contact Denpasar’s Task Force at covid19@denpasarkota.go.id or reach out to them on Facebook for more information on how they may be able to assist you.)
"Long Holidays, Domestic Tourists to Bali Predicted Only 10%" from The IDN Times: Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, I Putu Astawa, revealed that during the long holiday, tourist visits to Bali will not increase significantly. He revealed that from October 1 to October 15, 2020, there were 83,441 arrivals at the domestic terminal at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and 81,790 domestic departures. Meanwhile, at the international arrival terminal, there were 259 people recorded and 170 international departures. According to Communication and Legal Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I, Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Branch Office, Andanina Dyah Permata Megasari, this represents an increase in arrivals of just 10%... Head of the Road Traffic Division of the Bali Transportation Agency, Nyoman Sunarya, predicts that there will be an increase in the movement of people during the Prophet Muhammad's birthday and long weekends, which is outside Bali, estimated to be around 5% to 10%. Meanwhile, there are fewer possibilities, namely in the range of 3% to 5%. Why is less? Due to the pandemic situation and Bali still imposing entry control. Those who come to the Island of the Gods are still required to show a health certificate in the form of non-reactive rapid test results.
(Ed. Note: According to this story, multiple agencies' observations through Tuesday afternoon have not shown an increase in traffic flow at the island's entry points, and there had not been any significant figures related to the surge in tourists or the flow of local residents returning to their hometowns. Meanwhile, 14 people who tried to enter via Gilimanuk Port yesterday were turned away because they did not have rapid test results.)
>> Classifieds <<
Business is tough in the best of times, but these days- Wow. Thankfully, there’s a supportive spirit among the foreigners who remain in Bali; this newsletter is proof. If you’ve got a product or service that needs local support to succeed, let this community know about it here.
Other Headlines
"Many Foreigners in Canggu Don't Wear Masks, Run Away When They Are Raided by officers" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): North Kuta Police Deputy Chief, Iptu Sudiartha, said that in the North Kuta area violations were disseminated by foreign nationals. "Most of those who violate it are foreigners. Locals are quite orderly," he said. He continued, the level of awareness of foreigners to wear their own masks is quite low. This is quite evident by the inclusion of several foreigners who did not wear masks in the operation. Even from direct observation at the location, not a few foreigners who passed by using a motorbike were not wearing masks. They even dared to break through the inspection by the officers who carried out mask raids.
"New Coronavirus Cases are Trending Down in Indonesia' from The Jakarta Globe: The surge in newly coronavirus cases has been slowing in Indonesia in the last three weeks, although the daily average is still a bit higher from the previous month. The weekly total of coronavirus cases stands at 27,612, down from 28,220 in the previous week and from 29,446 two weeks ago. However, the country is still averaging just above 4,000 daily cases month to date, in comparison to an average of 3,740 in September.
(Ed. Note: While this downward trend is slight, it does appear to be consistent, even in the face of testing levels that have increased slightly during the same period. In addition, yesterday the country’s Covid-19 Task Force announced that the number of Red Zones - cities or regions where risk of transmission was high based on infection rates over the last two weeks - has dropped to just 20 from 32 last week. Here in Bali, after a large spike in cases in late August and early September, the number of new cases confirmed each day dropped from the 150 range to a 7-day average of slightly more than 100 per day. It has slid just below this level and held steady there for the last week. You can see a chart tracking daily new case totals & the 7-day average all the way back to May 1 in our evening Covid-19 update. Last night’s update can be found here.)
"All OPDs in the Bali Provincial Government Undergo a Swab" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): With no signs that the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon, case investigations that rely on rapid and swab tests have been carried out for a long time, both to civil society and related Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD). Over the last two days, all OPD employees in the government have undergone swabs. The head of the Bali Province Health Office (Kadiskes), Ketut Suarjaya, said that this testing was being done to improve tracing and testing in communities at risk. "To improve tracing and testing in communities at risk," he replied... On Monday and Tuesday, all staff of the Bali Provincial Government OPD have undergone a swab test. The Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, said that he had budgeted more than Rp. 20 billion for the rapid test and free swab. The funds are used for case tracing or tracing contact.
(Ed. Note: This news coincides with the Buleleng Government’s announcement that it will conduct swab tests on all public-facing employees, such as civil servants, members of the military and police officers. This will result in thousands of samples being processed at the Sanglah Hospital testing laboratory, as well as another lab that is being built at Buleleng Hospital and is expected to be operational by next week.)
"Education Office Delays Face-to-Face Learning in Nusa Penida" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Klungkung Regency Government through the local Education Office (Disdik) was aggressively preparing face-to-face learning for students in Nusa Penida District. However, the vigor has been put on the brakes again because recently positive cases of Covid-19 from local transmissions have continued to increase. Head of the Klungkung Health Service, Dr. Ni Made Adi Swapatni, admitted that there was an increase in local transmission cases in Nusa Penida. Until now, the number of positive cases in Nusa Penida has reached 50 people, 17 people are in care, and 33 people have recovered.
"Monkey Forest Tourism Object in Ubud Will Open Next November 5, Cok Ace: Must Prioritize Prokes" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): The Monkey Forest tourism object in Padangtegal Village, Ubud District, Gianyar Regency is planned to open on November 5, 2020. Cok Ace admitted that he agreed to open several tourist objects in Ubud, but still with the condition that he prioritized and prepared health protocols (Prokes) for both visitors and local staff. "So that the monkey forest tourism object will not become a new cluster for the spread of Covid-19," said Panglingsir Puri Ubud.
"Bali Toll Road Traffic Down by 75%" from Bali Discovery: In the first two months of 2020, before the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak, a daily average of 40,000 to 45,000 vehicles used the Bali Mandara Toll Road connecting Sanur-Kuta-Nusa Dua. More recently, amidst the tourism lockdown, that average number is closer to 8,000 vehicles per day, a drop of 75% from pre-pandemic levels. Despite the downturn in traffic and, because the problem is one of diminishing demand instead of price resistance, the roadway’s management has no plans to reduce the toll tariff. What’s more, to help popularize the road’s use, the Toll Road Managers plan to launch soon a promotional program underlining the sensation of driving over the open ocean.
"Bali Village Collects 1.7 Tons of Plastic Garbage in Exchange for Rice Program" from The Bali Sun: Last Thursday, 1.7 tons of plastic garbage from the villagers was exchanged for rice. The people were rewarded for not throwing their garbage in the river or burning it which creates toxic smoke said the Head of Banjar Banda, Kadek Merta Anggara. He hopes that this kind of program could be a regular occurrence in his area so the village would be free from plastic waste and educate the villagers to divide their own garbage. “But I have to admit that it’s not easy to find a sponsor that could provide rice for my people” Kadek Merta added.
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.
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 try to 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.