Coronavirus: in Indonesia, fears over Bali’s laid-back approach
- While other areas of Indonesia have brought in large-scale social restrictions, the holiday island seems a little too relaxed for comfort
- Governor I Wayan Koster says not to panic, but some believe there have been far more infections and deaths in Bali than have been reported
The capital Jakarta was the first to mandate large-scale social restrictions, known by the acronym PSBB, which include compulsory social distancing, the use of face masks in public, limited public transport, the closure of public areas, office buildings, shopping malls, houses of worship and schools. Several other regions have also implemented PSBB restrictions.
But Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said the provincial island still had “a long way to go” before following suit. While his government has declared a state of emergency, closed schools and public beaches, social distancing measures are merely encouraged and not enforced.
Some restaurants and stores remain open, and one group of expatriates recently threw a large birthday party in the beach town of Canggu, earning the ire of Balinese residents on social media. The party’s organisers were later ordered to report to police for questioning.
“We continue to monitor every day and actually the local transmission is low in Bali, and so we are far from implementing PSBB,” Koster said. “I don’t think we should be talking about this yet, I can assure you there’s still a long way to go; don’t bring about a scary situation.”
