Image: Koster and Wishnutama speak in Ubud. Credit: Pemprov Bali.
It was announced last night that the cumulative number of positive cases of Covid-19 on the island is now 829, which is an increase of 47 cases. They were all Indonesian citizens, consisting of one PMI, one imported case from within Indonesia and 45 local transmissions.
From the figures supplied by the Bali Covid-19 Task Force about the new cases, 42 cases were asymptomatic (OTG), one showed symptoms (ODP) and three were needing care in hospital (PDP).
The number of patients who have already recovered totals now 542 people.
The number of patients who died so far is six people.
The number of positive patients in care now totals 281, who are in 11 hospitals and quarantined at Bapelkesmas, UPT Nyitdah and BPK Pering. They are 279 Indonesians and two foreigners. It is not stated how many are in hospital in care and how many are in quarantine on the government websites.
Governor Koster restated yesterday that Bali was not yet ready to open tourism to international guests.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster stressed that Bali will not reopen tourism especially for international tourist visits in the near future. He said Bali is currently still focusing on efforts to control the spread of Covid-19, saying, “Local transmission cases are likely to increase.”
This was conveyed by the governor at a meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Wishnutama Kusubandio at Bebek Tepi Sawah Restaurant, Ubud, Gianyar, Wednesday (6/17).
Even with an increase in local transmissions, according to the governor, the provincial government is still designing various steps to oversee the new normal, including planning when and how to open tourism on the island.
He continued, if the situation is conducive, starting on July 9, tourism will be opened for the movement of local Balinese people in certain sectors. If conducive, it will continue in August for domestic tourists, and for international tourists it is planned to open in September.
He stressed that this is not a definite schedule to be carried out, greatly depending on the situation with Covid – 19 in the field, especially local transmission in Bali.
“One of the most important things that we must do right now is to create a truly conducive and safe situation with Covid-19 in Bali. And it really depends on the discipline of the community in the forefront of the pandemic prevention. We need to be disciplined together, we need joint efforts, so that Bali can be conducive quickly, and the government has prepared its arrangements,” said the governor.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Minister of Transportation and Culture, Wishnutama Kusubandio, expressed his appreciation for the preparation of the protocol to start the new normal protocols that had been designed and prepared by all local governments in Bali and tourism sector players, which he witnessed firsthand during the visit.
In line with the Governor of Bali, the Minister of Tourism also conveyed the importance of maintaining Bali’s conduciveness while maintaining discipline. “I salute Bali’s readiness, it must be like that. Prepared in advance, to be applied when reopened. We must be able to build tourist trust, tourism is a business of trust, we must be able to build and create a sense of security and comfort for travelers while enjoying Bali,” he was quoted as saying on the Bali provincial government Facebook page yesterday.
