Bali reopens to international tourists after almost 2 years

Yesterday, Bali reopened to foreign tourists with its first international flight in almost two years. The flight was with Singapore airlines, with 109 foreign travellers, and 47 Indonesians. The foreign travellers are required to quarantine in a designated hotel for three to seven days. There are 27 designated hotels for them to choose from. The governor said he hopes in March, foreigners won’t have to quarantine as long as they test negative on departure and arrival. One Australian vacationer said the reopening was a “great sign” for tourism.

The country is opening its borders even though it reported a record number of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. The government’s Covid-19 task force said the number of daily infections rose above 57,000. Indonesia now has the most Covid-19 cases in all of Southeast Asia, followed by Vietnam and then the Philippines. The new spread in Indonesia has been caused by the Omicron variant. On Tuesday, the death toll in the past 28 days was 1,006. Indonesia’s total number of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began is 4,966,046. The total number of deaths from Covid-19 is 145,622.

The Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association chair told Channel News Asia that Bali is using strict protocols.

“We are aware of the increasing and fluctuating Omicron variant cases, but as long as we are strictly implementing health protocols, we should not be worried.”

SOURCE: Channel News Asia | Tempo | Reuters