Four Regions In Bali Record Zero New Cases Of Covid

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The right kind of positive news about Covid is coming from Bali today. On Thursday 5th May, four districts, known as regencies in Bali, recorded zero positive cases of Covid-19. Across the whole island, only 13 positive cases were recorded and zero deaths. This comes as very welcome news for all who live in Bali and for international travelers keen to visit the Island of the Gods in the near future. 

The head of Bali’s Covid Task Force, I Made Rentin, announced yesterday that all regencies in Bali have been downgraded to low-risk status, coded as yellow zones. In all of Bali, there are 134 known active cases, 34 people in hospital, and 102 people who are lodged as being in self-isolation.

The total population of Bali is just over 4.3 million people in addition to tens of thousands of visitors at any given time. This low caseload is being attributed to considerable vaccine uptake and the need for travelers to show a negative PCR test on arrival or their vaccine certificate. 

I Dewa Gede Rai, the spokesperson for the Denpasar City Covid-19 Task Force said that transmission rates in the city were in a continual decline, though they have not yet reached zero. He asked that the public continue to act in accordance with government guidelines, priorities for sanitization, and other health protocols like mask-wearing. He urged that now is not the moment to slack off as doing so will surely result in an increase in cases across Denpasar city and Bali at large. 

Rai reminded people to keep an eye on the latest figures and the news regarding the changing in regulations and protocols. He said that the Omicron variant is still prevalent in Bali and virologists around the world are confident that new variants will continue to emerge in the coming months. 

Across all of Indonesia, there were 250 new cases recorded on Thursday 5th May, averaging 238 daily in the last seven days. Over the course of the pandemic, Indonesia has recorded just over 6 million cases. This figure is likely much higher since in the early days of the pandemic testing was not widely available. According to data published online, Indonesia has recorded 156,000 Covid-19 related deaths since the beginning of the outbreak. 

Overall this news of low caseloads will be very well received by those living in Bali and those looking to visit soon. Many prospective travelers have said that they are waiting for caseloads to fall to a minimum before they start their journeys. Authorities across Indonesia are working around the clock to find the balance between easing restrictions so that the economy, specifically the tourism sector, can bounce back, and ensuring that caseloads remain low. 

At present, Indonesian borders are open and the visa on arrival program is welcoming citizens from sixty countries into the country without the need for applying for a visa in advance. Unvaccinated, or single-dose vaccinated travelers must present a negative PCR test completed within 48-hours of their arrival in Indonesia. Double vaccinated travelers must present their Covid-19 vaccine certificates and a negative rapid antigen test taken 24-hours before departure.

In some cases, travelers are being asked to show proof of travel or health insurance documents on arrival. As has always been the case, travelers must be prepared to show proof of onward travel if asked by immigration officers. 

On the 2nd March 2020 Indonesian President Joko Widodo, often called Jokowi, announced the first two cases of Covid-19 in the country during a televised press statement. In comparison to many other parts of the world, Indonesia’s reaction to the development of the outbreak was rapid, announcing localized lockdowns as early as the third week of March. To date, 165,140,701 people in Indonesia have received two doses of the vaccine.