The provincial government in Bali is moving faster than other Indonesian regions in implementing the new set of tightened measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with an official saying that the new regulations are already in force.
Indonesia yesterday announced a set of new restrictions — the strictest ones the country has seen during the pandemic — named the Emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM or PPKM Darurat in Indonesian), which applies to the islands of Java and Bali and were set to come into effect from July 3 to July 20.
In a press conference held shortly after Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan laid out the details of the measures yesterday, Bali officials said that Emergency PPKM will be implemented in the province right away.
“We will implement it today, we won’t wait until July 3 anymore. We start today,” I Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, an official from the COVID-19 task force in Bali, said.
All regions in Bali, with the exception of Tabanan and Karangasem, are classified as “Level 3.” All cities and regencies categorized as Level 4 and Level 3 are mandated to enforce Emergency PPKM, restrictions of which include closure of malls and public facilities, allowing only takeaway and delivery for restaurants, and a full Work From Home (WFH) policy for all workers in non-essential sectors, among other restrictions.
Now, there’s a possibility that Bali may implement the restrictions a little differently as it has done several times before during the pandemic. However, as of this morning, no official document from the provincial government has been released.
