Over 1,000 Personnel Deployed To Secure Bali During The Holiday Season
The Bali Police Department has deployed 1,497 personnel to secure the Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bali.
The Head of the Bali Police Department, Irjen Pol Putu Jayan Danu Putra, confirmed that following the central government’s instruction, Jayan Danu would ensure proper deployment of his personnel during the year-end holidays.
A large number of domestic tourists have started coming to the island for vacation.
During the morning briefing at Bajra Sandi, Renon Denpasar on Thursday (23/12), Irjen Pol Jayan Danu instructed his personnel to start the ‘Candle Operation.’ This involves intensively patrolling and securing the island from the 24th of December to the 2nd of January 2022.
This program was also initiated in anticipation of the Omicron variant. It ensures the implementation of prevention protocols in public areas. “I urge everyone to comply with the government’s instruction for our own safety and health,” Irjen Pol Jayan Danu said.
Authorities will deploy 1,497 officers from different institutions, including police, military, and health agencies. They will establish twenty security bases and five service bases in several areas, including the airport and ferry ports.
Jayan Danu also instructed his personnel to regularly conduct rapid antigen tests on random people around their bases and ensure that all the public facilities utilize the PeduliLindungi tracing app. (thebalisun.com 14/12/2021)
Bali International Hospital Hoped to Be Indonesia’s Mayo Clinic: Jokowi
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Bali International Hospital in Denpasar, Bali. This hospital is slated to be Indonesia’s version of Mayo Clinic in the U.S.
In his speech, he hoped the international-standard hospital will be the main preference for Indonesians who usually seek treatment overseas.
“If this comes to fruition, we expect no more of our people will travel overseas to get health treatment,” said the President in his acceptance speech.
Government statistics reveal over two million Indonesians travel overseas to get treated in healthcare facilities in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, up to the United States.
“We lose about Rp97 trillion because of this. This is why I highly appreciate what has been initiated today,” said Jokowi.
The Bali International Hospital is initiated by State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir and his team to present more domestic options for people seeking high-quality healthcare services. The hospital, which according to the President partners with Mayo Clinic, is expected to be completed and fully operational by 2023. (tempo.co 28/12/2021)
Passengers boarding Java-Bali ferry must be fully vaxxed starting today
Bali’s year-end domestic tourism boom is coming with heightened COVID-19 surveillance at the island’s entry points, including at crucial sea ports linking Java and Bali.
Starting today and until Jan. 2, passengers of ferries going from the Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi, East Java to Bali’s Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana must be fully vaccinated, in accordance with a Transportation Ministry circular on domestic travel during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
In addition, travelers must present a negative antigen test result, which is valid for one day, or a negative PCR test, which is valid for three days. All vaccination and test records are contained in the government’s PeduliLindungi tracing app.
Previously, partially vaccinated travelers were allowed to board the ferry linking the two ports. Negative COVID-19 test results were also required.
Though foreign tourists haven’t been returning to the island of the gods in great numbers, the provincial government has seen a huge uptick in domestic tourist numbers ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.(coconuts.co 24/12/2021)
Bali man lived with dead mother for 2 months, using ice to preserve her body
Police in Buleleng Regency have facilitated the burial of a woman who had been kept in her home for over two months by her son, as he fulfilled a promise made on her deathbed.
According to Commissioner Gede Juli, who heads the Seririt Precinct, a 53-year-old man by the initials PS kept the body of his 96-year-old mother WT in her village home for 54 days after she died on Nov. 3. Before she passed away, she reportedly made him promise to take care of her.
“The child was mandated to uphold that promise to his mother,” Gede said yesterday.
To PS, who had been caring for his mother alone for four months before her death, that meant preserving her as she was in life and refusing to bury her.
“The body was preserved with ice cubes,” Gede said.
Locals recently learned what PS has been up to as he had become reclusive in the past two months. Family and neighbors tried to convince him to give his mother a proper send off, but he refused.
Police got involved over the weekend and finally convinced PS to let go of his mother. She was buried on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities confirmed that the woman died of natural causes. (coconuts.co 28/12/2021)
25,000 kids aged 6-11 vaccinated per day in Bali as province aims to complete first round this month
One week into the vaccination drive for children aged 6-11 in Bali, the province has managed to administer shots to an average of 25,000 kids per day — a rate that lags behind the provincial government’s goal.
The Bali Health Agency said, as of Dec. 21, 108,204 people in the youngest age group have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine since the program launched on Dec. 15.
The provincial government initially targeted a vaccination rate of 40,000 children per day in order to complete the first round of jabs on 373,120 Balinese children before the end of the year.
“But the vaccination rate of 25,000 people per day is still high,” Bali Health Agency Head I Ketut Suarjaya said.
The province intends on speeding up the vaccination rate in order to meet its goal, but it may face a shortage of the Sinovac vaccine — the only vaccine approved for use on the age group — on the island.
Suarjaya said that 100,000 doses of the vaccine have been shipped to Bali and is expected to arrive today, noting that the central government has been quick to fill potential gaps in the island’s vaccine supply.
Among all age groups, Bali has one of the highest vaccination rates in Indonesia. (coconuts.co 24/12/2021)
Sandiaga Uno Sets Low Target on Foreign Tourist Arrivals despite Upcoming G20
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, led by Sandiaga Uno, targeted 1.8-3.6 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2022. The target was lower than the number of foreign tourists entering the country in 2020 which amounted to 4.05 million.
“The target is quite modest considering that the policy on border opening is still an obstacle,” said the ministry’s deputy for strategic policy Kurleni Ukar in his office, Monday, December 27.
Kurleni said Indonesia is still limiting the number of international visits from various countries following the outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Therefore, the government does not set a grandiose target next year albeit the country will host a number of international events, such as G20 and MotoGP.
“We assess the potential target market. We expect tourists from India, Japan, and Australia will visit Bali as there is direct access. Meanwhile, tourists from Malaysia and Singapore are the main targets of Batam,” he added.
Despite the limited number of foreign visits, the ministry was determined to maximize the withdrawal of foreign exchange reserves from travelers of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions).
The ministry’s deputy for tourism products and events Rizki Handayani added that MICE travelers had a share of 23 percent of the total number of foreign tourists entering Indonesia, while leisure travelers had a market share of 63-65 percent.
Since leisure travelers could not be relied on next year, various international business agendas or MICE were believed to help achieve the target of foreign tourist arrivals. “If there is no more surge in COVID-19 cases, we will reach that number (1.8-3.6 million foreign tourists),” said Rizki. (tempo.co 28/12/2021)
Dozens Of Illegal Vehicles Fined By Bali Authorities
Dozens of illegal vehicles have been fined for carrying passengers without a legal permit.
The Head of Operations from Cekik Vehicle Weighing Unit, Arya, confirmed that 40 illegal vehicles were sanctioned during an operation conducted by authorities.
The operation began on December 23, 2021, anticipating the potential surge of traffic violations during the year-end holidays as domestic tourists increase.
“22 cars that attempted to transport passengers from Denpasar to different destinations in East Java were sanctioned for operating without a special permit from the authority,” Arya said.
They also sanctioned 18 buses that violated the traffic regulations by transporting passengers outside their regular routes.
“Despite having a proper license to operate their vehicles, some buses were also sanctioned for attempting to transport their passengers outside of their regular routes,” Arya concluded.
He also ensured the safety of those vehicles by checking their passengers’ details and their proof of rapid antigen test.((thebalisun.com 28/12/2021)