hundreds of protesters rally in bali without masks to protest rapid, swab requirements

Hundreds of people in relation to Healthy Archipelago Society (Manusa) staged a rally on 26th July in Denpasar around  the Bajra Sandhi monument to protest the administration's policy of requiring rapid and swab tests for travel and administrative purpose.

Made Krisna Dinata, the society's spokesperson pointed out in a statement that rapid tests and swabs couldn't guarantee whether the person didn't have Covid-19.

“[This was] shared by the Association of Indonesia's Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine specialists [PDS PatKLIn],” added Dinata.

Jerinx who is a famous drummer of Bali based punk rock band Superman is Dead (SID), was a part of the protesters. He is infamous about his stance about his antivaccine and antimask stance since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as singer Leeyonk Sinatra. They among the other protesters marched from Renon Square to Bajra Sandhi.

A circular was issued on 5th July by the Governor of Bali which required swab or rapid tests for the travelers. As per the circular it was mandatory to get tested by all the people staying at rented houses, villas, boarding houses along with the workers and the traditional markets. Hotels restaurants and others related to tourism are also required to comply.

Bali Health and Tourism agencies also issued a similar circular requiring tourism related businesses to must pay for the rapid tests for their staff to obtain the new normal certification.

Tourism is the island’s main economic sector. In 2019, 6.3 million international tourists visited the island, accounting for 39 percent of all international tourists visiting the country.

Governor of Bali announced on 22nd July that the Island will officially open its border for International tourists on September 11 under strict health protocols.