Bali is now officially open for domestic tourism with new entry requirements for all Indonesians. Anyone with plans to visit Bali must first undergo a test and obtain a letter stating they do not have Covid-19 under a new policy issued by the Bali administration. Everyone visiting Bali is required to have undergone a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, Bali Airport Authority head Elfi Amir told The Bali Sun over the phone.
“Under our new rules passengers flying to Bali need to ensure this has been done before arriving at the airport. Passengers will be checked by airlines before boarding,” said Amir. The airport authority and the Bali COVID-19 Task Force will recheck the swab test results and letters of all passengers upon arrival at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International airport. If any passenger arrives without a swab test result, the airport authority will let the task force take action and the airline will be reprimanded for not following regulations.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster sent a letter to the transportation minister on May 18, requesting the swab test results be made a requirement to enter the island through the airport. However, in the same letter, the governor did not request similar a requirement for people entering the island through seaports. For those entering the island through seaports, Koster only requested a rapid test result issued by a public hospital, regional health agency or other authority that declares a person negative for COVID-19.
The rapid test result and swab test result should be valid for at least seven days after the arrival day at Bali’s airport. Bali COVID-19 Task Force executive chairman, Dewa Made Indra, reiterated that everyone planning to visit Bali must have the COVID-19-free letter when they buy the ticket. Visitors must also register at the provincial website cekdiri.baliprov.go.id, which will provide a QR code that can be shown when buying the ticket as proof that the passengers are healthy.
The policy is required for everyone except flight attendants who only transit in Bali. He explained that the swab test requirement was not out of line. He said the administration was not asking for privileges or special treatment but was only seeking to follow the central government’s plan to make Bali the first region to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak. Dewa Indra said the administration appreciated the central government’s plan to make Bali the first COVID-19 free area.
“However, it is not a simple thing. It will be a long road as [the outbreak] is not over yet. Bali wants to tightly control who enters Bali, both Indonesians and foreigners, because all people are possible COVID-19 carriers,” he said. The swab test, he said, was needed to filter those seeking to enter to prevent further transmission on the island. Last week, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance has announced a Rp. 25 trillion ($2.6 Billion AUD) stimulus in travel vouchers to revive local tourism and help increase consumption of the upper-middle class.
This article is published in THE BALI SUN
