Wednesday, September 9
Local surge of infections blamed on low-quality rapid tests, insufficient swab testing & tourism + National spike refocuses authorities on health protocols + Airport traffic jumps 116% + more!
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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
(Ed. Note: The number of cases in Bali has jumped 100% in the last week. You can see video of the national Covid-19 Task Force's summary - in Indonesian -of this spike here. During the briefing, the Task Force also announced that the number of "High Risk" districts - Red Zones - across the country had jumped from 65 to 70, and the number of "Low Risk" districts - Green Zones - had fallen from 42 to 38. Bali remains a "Moderate Risk" district - or Orange Zone. Read more here. Click here to see the complete breakdown of yesterday’s numbers + trendlines in our evening update.)
The Big News
"Bali COVID-19 Surge Blamed On Inaccurate Rapid Tests for Visitors" from Al Jazeera: Medical experts have linked a surge in coronavirus cases on Bali to the inaccurate, low-cost rapid antibody test kits that are being used to screen domestic visitors to the Indonesian resort island. Throughout July and the first half of August, the number of new confirmed cases in Bali fell as low as 27 cases per day on August 10, with a seven-day average of 40 new cases per day. But two weeks after the resumption of domestic travel, confirmed cases on the island began spiking, with five record-breaking days peaking at 198 new cases on September 4. As of Tuesday, Bali had 6,385 confirmed cases and 116 deaths... Dr Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist who has helped formulate Indonesia's pandemic response for 20 years, says the screening protocol probably allowed more cases to enter Bali. "Rapid antibody test kits do not detect current infections. They only detect if a person has been infected within a few weeks or months ago," he said. He also pointed out that the tests are "not specific" to COVID-19.
"Office, Family, Election Clusters Put Focus Back on Health Protocols" from Antara: For Indonesia, which has been striving to flatten its coronavirus curve since March, 2020, the past two weeks have thrown up a worrying trend. The country has recorded a spike in the COVID-19 infection rate, with over three thousand new cases added daily. Added to this is the fact that more than 100 frontline doctors have succumbed to the infection... The current COVID-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia is a bit distressing, according to spokesperson for the government's COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito. He surmised that the increase in cases may partly be attributed to the recent long holidays, during which, many people traveled to tourist sites and did not strictly abide by COVID-19 preventive measures.
"PTN Unud Hospital Checks 50-300 Swab Samples Per Day" from Antara (Indonesian): Udayana University State University Hospital (RS PTN) has examined 50 to 300 swab samples per day for six months during the COVID-19 pandemic. "So far, the number of samples varies from 50 to 300 per day. So it is fluctuating; so far it has reached tens of thousands," said Deputy Director of Medical and Nursing Services at PTN Hospital, Dr. Arya Biantara... The Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office, Dr. Ketut Suarjaya explained that for the Bali region, there are five examination laboratories, Sanglah Hospital Micro Laboratory, Udayana University Laboratory, Warmadewa FKIK Laboratory, Bali Provincial BLK and the lab at Bali Mandara Hospital. Tabanan BRSUD Laboratory is still in the process of obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Health. "Of the five hospitals, there are a total of 11 PCR devices, with 10 expert human resources with a total examination capability reaching 1,870 per day," explained dr. Suarjaya.
(Ed. Note: Daily testing numbers are not released by Bali's Provincial Government. The most recent information from late August is that the island is averaging 1,000 tests per day.)
>> 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
"Officials in Tabanan Regency Government Exposed to COVID-19, 37 Civil Servants Underwent Swab Tests" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): They were tested based on the results of contact tracing from officials of the Tabanan Regional Finance Agency (Bakeuda), who previously tested positive for COVID-19. Spokesperson for Tabanan's Covid-19 Task Force, I Putu Dian Setiawan, said that tracing initially showed 62 people who had contact with the Bakeuda Tabanan official. However, that number is shrinking, and now only 37 people have to undergo the swab test. The decrease in the number of tracing contacts was based on the results of sorting out people who did not wear masks when they were close to the official, were less than one meter away, and had long interactions. The hope is that the results of this swab test will come out on September 9. While waiting for the results of the swab to come, the 37 civil servants will undergo independent quarantine.
"ASEPHI Asks Foreign Business Partners to be Allowed to Enter Bali" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The Association of Indonesian Handicraft Exporters and Manufacturers (ASEPHI) Bali asks the government to allow foreigners with business or economic interests to come to Indonesia, especially Bali. ASEPHI Bali DPD Chairman I Ketut Gede Dharma Siadja said that Bali handicraft exports are now starting to work. This was after the countries which were the destination for Bali handicraft exports opened up. Among them are the United States and Europe. "There has been movement, but orders are still limited," he said. The looseness of the visit visas for business, as well as a similar response for countries that have opened themselves up, will enable Indonesian citizens, including Balinese businessmen to enter the countries concerned.
"Ahead of Trial, Thousands of Demonstrators in Bali Demand That JRX Be Released" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Thousands of Balinese people took to the streets to rally. The mob, who wore all black attributes, demanded that JRX SID be freed from legal traps. This action was held in front of Bajra Sandhi Monument, Renon Denpasar, Tuesday (8/9). The masses who attended this action came from a number of organizations and individuals... The coordinator of the action, Made Krisna Dinata, in his oration said that the action was carried out because they thought the action that had been carried out by JRX was not an offense. Even JRX is considered a voice for the small community.
"Bali Airport Records Increase in Passengers in August" from Antara (Indonesian): PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero), the manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, noted that it had served 174,462 passengers via 2,385 airplanes during August. This was up from July, when there were 80,586 passengers and 1,381 aircraft movements served at the main gate of the Island of the Gods. This is growth of 116% for passenger movements and 73% for aircraft movements.
"Generous Tourist Helps the People of Bali By Running Ultra Marathon" from The Bali Sun: A young man named Jack who has been living in Bali during pandemic, has decided to help the people of Bali by running an ultra marathon to raise money for food. A simple act can make a big impact in Bali right now but apparently for Jack, he’s taking it to a whole new level. A week from now, Jack will be running an Utra Marathon from Lovina (North Bali) to F45 GYM in Seminyak (South Bali), totaling almost 90km with a change of 1600 meters in elevation. Jack is running the Ultra-marathon to help buy food for the Bali people who have no income during pandemic through a charity organization called Scholars Of Sustenance (SOS) “Rescue Kitchen."
"Sent Home, Hotel Cook Opens Rp.10,000 All-you-can-eat Warung in Denpasar" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): A star hotel cook named Geri opened a food stall on Jalan Tukad Pakerisan Number 79 Denpasar. Uniquely, he offers food for only Rp.10,000 and iced tea for Rp.3,000. Customers can take as much as they want. This social action was carried out after seeing many of his colleagues who had to be laid off or laid off (termination of employment), so that it was difficult to have enough to eat daily... Geri is a hotel cook in Gili Terawangan, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, he has been sent home since December 2019. To make a living, he and his colleagues created a simple shop that provides Sundanese specialties, such as seblak and shaked noodles. Until finally in August, Geri and three colleagues got donors to create a social food stall. “In this shop, everything is self-service. Consumers are welcome to take it themselves and can add as much as they want, the conditions are not to be shy and careful,” he said.
"Bringing Drugs, A Foreigner from Spain Secured by the Bali Regional Police" from The Bali Tribune (Indonesian): A foreigner from Spain, Jose Miguel Blanco Galvez, was arrested because he was proven to be carrying cocaine-type drugs and was proven to have stored ecstasy pills at his residence in Bali. The 39-year-old foreigner was arrested in front of the Lion Parcel office, Jalan Uluwatu 1, No.52 Banjar Teba, Jimbaran Village, South Kuta District, Badung Regency on Saturday. "The team found 3 packages of black lumps suspected of containing Hasis-type narcotic preparations with a total weight of 19.84 grams net which were placed on a wooden table in the perpetrator's bedroom," explained a source.
The View from Outside
"New Virus Cases Knock Hopes of Reviving Southeast Asia's Holiday Hotspots" from Reuters: Plans to reopen Bali to foreign tourists from September have been postponed indefinitely, while Thailand’s proposal for the cautious reopening of Phuket island has come into doubt. Bali initially appeared to weather the health crisis better than other parts of Indonesia, which has suffered Southeast Asia’s biggest death toll by far. But coronavirus cases have spiked after it reopened its borders to domestic tourism at the end of July. “Increasing domestic tourism is one important factor for increasing cases in Bali,” said Dr Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia... While Ketut Suarjaya, the head of Bali’s health agency, said domestic tourism was not to blame for the spike in cases, others see Bali’s experience as a warning of the dangers of reopening borders too soon. Epidemiologists and public health experts said the arrival of tourists in Bali not only made infection from other parts of Indonesia more likely, but underscored shortcomings in fighting the pandemic, namely a lack of testing and contact tracing.
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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