all restrictions of covid end in bali as president visits bali
Muhadjir Effendy, Indonesia's Minister for Human Development and Culture, has stated that there is a "good likelihood" that all Covid-19 limitations will be lifted shortly. At a news conference in Jakarta on May 22nd, the minister acknowledged that the administration is analyzing evidence that might lead to the lifting of all constraints.
The announcement comes during President Joko Widodo's visit to Bali for the 7th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Over 4,000 delegates are expected to attend the 5-day conference, which is being sponsored in collaboration with the United Nations.
At the moment, Bali is on PPKM Level 2, which means that these visiting delegates, tourists, and locals are all subject to various limitations. These include wearing masks in public places and on public transportation.
The PPKM Level 2 was extended for Java and Bali two weeks ago. Cafes and restaurants must run at 75 percent capacity under the directive. Diners may only be seated for an hour, and the hospitality industry is still subject to various limitations on operating hours. Shopping centers, event venues, and places of worship may only be operating at 75% capacity.
The Bali tourism industry must operate at full capacity as soon as possible. Local business owners can only recover losses from the impact of two years of worldwide lockdowns prohibiting tourists from visiting Bali if they can function without limitations.
All of this, though, could alter very soon. According to Minister Effendy, the government is closely examining the information given to them by the Covid-19 Task Forces across the country. He mentioned the president's decision to eliminate the mask requirement in public places and the pre-arrival PCR test for vaccinated tourists as positive indicators. He also mentioned that the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction delegates is not governed by bubbles.
He verified that delegates are free to explore Bali and are not restricted to their hotels or conference centers during the meeting. This is crucial because it demonstrates that international government delegations are confident enough to conduct business travel with minimal Covid-19 limitations.
President Joko Widodo is expected to agree to more mandate relaxations if he returns from the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction with good support.
According to Effendy, the next step of limitation reduction would be the removal of masks in indoor settings and on public transportation. His comments were mirrored by Pandu Riono, a senior epidemiologist from the Faculty of Health at the University of Indonesia. They encouraged the government to lift all remaining limitations as of May 23rd to give locals and tourists more liberty.
The Covid-19 vaccination rollout appears to be the most important element in reducing the remaining mandates at the moment. The vaccination has been widely distributed in Bali. Last Monday, the local authorities said that they were redoubling their efforts to guarantee that the senior population received their second dose.
They also revealed that the Bali Covid-19 Task Force had been directed to conduct spot checks for vaccination certificates now that they were no longer required to police masks worn outside. They have been told to encourage individuals who have not been fully vaccinated to get their free vaccine at the nearest location and to encourage those who have been twice immunized to get their booster dose.
Authorities are likely to wait for data from the next weeks to determine if there is an upsurge in local caseloads as a result of the withdrawal of the pre-arrival PCR test for vaccinated visitors. If caseloads continue low, it is expected that the regulations will be quickly lifted, allowing full economic recovery to commence and tourists to visit Bali with the same liberties they had before the pandemic.