A hot tourist destination in Bali seeks to reopen its doors to foreign tourists amid the Covid pandemic

Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjatan told the media on Friday that preparations are underway to allow the island to welcome tourists again.

“Given the current trend, we are very confident that we can open Bali by October,” he said, noting the drop in COVID-19 infections in Indonesia.

Initially, it will only try to accommodate countries that have a low prevalence of Covid-19 such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand.

Luhut said these visitors still need to be quarantined.

Australia could join the list if it reaches its goal of fully vaccinating 80% of its citizens by November.

As of September 19, at least 46 per cent of Australians have been stabbed twice.

Currently, Indonesia only allows entry into the country for foreign nationals who have diplomatic or work visas or who qualify for other exemptions.

Bali was scheduled to open in July of this year, but the sharp rise in the number of cases halted plans.

More than 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded each day at the height of the outbreak in July.

However, after daily infections fell by about 95 percent, officials this week eased restrictions on local residents.

to me shortage of timeVaccines have also been launched with 96% of the target population receiving their first doses.

Regarding which parts of the country will open to foreigners first, Luhut said Bali would be the starting point.

“We are in no hurry to make Indonesia 100% open (to all foreign visitors),” he told the media on Friday.

Before the pandemic, Bali attracted more than six million foreign tourist arrivals in 2019 alone, with Australian and Chinese tourists accounting for more than half of the total.

the country as a whole Fight with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks In Asia, it has recorded more than 3.9 million cases and 120,000 deaths since August.

Vaccine passports in Australia

The idea of ​​a vaccine passport has been flagged as a way for Australia to return to normal life by health and government officials. It will be a government-issued document that proves that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19 and other viruses.

It could also allow Australians to travel freely between states despite the blockade and outbreak, and to participate in family reunions and major sporting events.

Although vaccination is not mandatory in Australia, the scheme may offer more incentives to vaccinate amid fears that some older Australians are hesitating and “buying the vaccine” by delaying their strike to wait for other alternatives.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the vaccine passport option in May, signaling a number of new travel freedoms for fully vaccinated Australians.

“We’ve seen it work in other countries, and I think it’s the kind that could be used specifically to allow vaccinated Australians to move to Australia,” Morrison said.

“I think the next step is possible, because Australia, with our international borders rising, means that vaccinated Australians will be in a much less risky situation when there are restrictions on Australians taking public transport, going to the movies or going to football or whatever. Something they could do… Family reunite.