Wednesday, September 16
New lockdown rules for Jakarta Airports + Religious leaders urge halt to large Galungan ceremonies + Numbers show that latest wave of cases may be cresting + Fines issued in Tabanan & Jembrana + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Wednesday, September 16. (Happy Galungan Day!) 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 UPDATE: In observance of the Galungan holiday, the newsletter will not publish tomorrow. However, the evening Covid-19 update will be sent out as normal. We’ll be back with our regularly-scheduled morning newsletter on Friday.
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: The last six days have seen a steadily declining number of new infections reported, making it appear on tracking charts that the curve of this latest wave of new cases has been successfully bent. (Hopefully, everyone continues wearing masks so that we can keep it that way!) Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update.
The Big News
"Travellers’ Checklist for Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Airports for PSBB" from Indonesia Expat: With the tightening of PSBB across Jakarta again, health protocols from PT Angkasa Pura II have been updated and will apply at Soekarno-Hatta Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. “We urge airplane passengers to be aware of a number of things that need to be considered,” said PT Angkasa Pura II’s President Director Muhammad Awaluddin. Passengers departing or arriving at Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma Airports need to be aware of these five things... (Ed. Note: Click through to the article for the full list.)
"COVID-19 Red Zones Decline to 41 from 70: Task Force" from Antara: The number of districts and cities in Indonesia classified as red zones, or areas with a high COVID-19 transmission risk, has declined to 41 as of September 13, compared to 70 earlier. With the decline in COVID-19 transmission risk, 34 districts and cities which were earlier categorized as red zones have been designated as orange zones, or areas with a moderate risk of COVID-19 transmission. As a result, the number of districts and cities classified as orange zones this week has increased to 293 from 267.
"FKUB, MDA, and PHDI Bali Agree to Limit Religious Activities" from Bali Express (Indonesian): On Monday, the local Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB Bali) issued a Joint Circular which regulates religious activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, a similar circular was also published by Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) and the Bali Traditional Village Council (MDA). The circular from PHDI and MDA Bali specifically regulates the limitation of the Panca Yadnya ceremony activities during the Covid-19 pandemic... "All religious ceremonies and / or religious processions that are planned, should be postponed as far as possible until the COVID-19 Pandemic is declared to have subsided by the authorities." (Ed. Note: Click through to the article to read the full text of each circular.)
>> 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
"Two People Fined for Not Wearing Masks [in Tabanan]" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): Satpol PP, TNI, and Polri again carried out unannounced inspections at Dauh Pala Market and Kediri Market, Kediri District, Tabanan. The inspection, an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19, found 2 people without masks. They were immediately fined Rp. 100,000 per person and given free masks...The Joint Team of Satpol PP, TNI and Polri elements will carry out unannounced inspections of implementation of government order (Perbup) 44/2020 twice a week. The joint team will carry out operations related to health protocols by targeting crowded places and even going to villages.
"More Mask Raids, Satpol PP in Jembrana Collect IDR 600,000" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Satpol PP Jembrana together with the TNI and Polri carried out a patrol on Monday which caught 11 people who failed to properly wear masks, with six punished with a fine of Rp. 100,000. Kasatpol PP Jembrana I Made Leo Agus Jaya said that raids to control residents to implement health protocols will be held routinely so that residents are disciplined in carrying out health protocols, especially the use of masks in any activity outside the home. "We have done frequent socialization so that we are disciplined in wearing masks, if we are not disciplined we will be punished according to the rules," he said.
"Unud PTN Hospital is Overwhelmed Facing Covid-19 Cases, Beds Almost 100% Filled" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): "Nearly 93-94 percent. We are overwhelmed," said President Director of PTN Unud Hospital , Dewa Putu Gede Purwa Samatra. Of the 88 available beds, 85 have been filled with patients. This week there were 25 empty beds. However, in just a matter of hours, 23 patients were immediately filled. Facing this spike in Covid-19 cases, Samatra said that the PTN Unud Hospital made arrangements so that only patients who were referred were those with moderate symptoms. "The hard ones go to the RSUP (Sanglah), the mild ones can go to another hospital," he said.
"4 Regions in Bali in the Top 10 Highest for DHF Cases, Buleleng in First Position" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Buleleng Regency , Bali is listed as a district / city with the highest dengue fever ( DHF ) cases in Indonesia. Three other areas in Bali, namely Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar, are also included in the top 10 regions with the highest DHF cases. Based on data from the Ministry of Health until September 2020, the total number of dengue cases in Indonesia reached 84,734 cases. Buleleng occupies the top position with 2,677 cases, followed by Bandung, West Java with 2,138 cases, and Badung with 2,138 cases.
"In Virus-stricken Indonesia, Many Can't Afford to Self-quarantine At Home" from The Jakarta Post: Staying home is considered key in suppressing COVID-19 transmission, but many Indonesians confirmed or suspected of having the disease cannot afford to self-isolate because of lack of space. When the novel coronavirus infected dozens in Muara Baru, North Jakarta, in May, some coming from the same families and households, residents and some advocacy groups did all they could to find a government-run quarantine facility. Self-imposed quarantine would not work because houses in the neighborhood are small and shared by many family members and are adjacent to one another.
"Bali Treetop Adventures Ceases Operations" from Bali Discovery: Bali Treetop Adventures – a popular Eco-Adventure Park featuring High Rope Courses and Zip-Lines located in the Bedugul Botanical Gardens in North Bali, have formally ceased doing business. In a statement issued on behalf of Bali Treetop Adventure’s parent company – SkyZip Engineering – a French company specializing in the design, construction, and management of Ziplines and Eco-adventure parks, the Bali operators said the local operation would close due to an inability to negotiate a new land lease with the Botanical Gardens.
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.