Foreign travelers may cut their quarantine period a little shorter than initially expected upon arriving in Bali, a local official has confirmed, as Indonesia is set to reopen the popular tourist destination for select nations this week.
Last week, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan made the long-awaited announcement for Bali’s reopening to international travelers, which is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 14. During the press conference, Luhut said foreign visitors from South Korea, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand must quarantine for a minimum of 8 days at their personal expense upon arrival.
Prospective arrivals and Bali’s tourist operators mostly lamented what they considered a long quarantine period. Since then, officials said that they would consider reducing the quarantine length, and today the Bali Provincial Government confirmed that they have done just that.
“Quarantine [for foreign travelers] has been agreed [to be shortened], from 8 days to 5 days,” Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, or Cok Ace, said.
“We would like for it to be reduced further, but there’s a trial mechanism [for the reopening].”
Cok Ace argued that other countries are offering shorter quarantine periods for visitors, while some don’t require travelers to quarantine at all. After a meeting last night, officials agreed to implement the five-day period for the time being, as they continue monitoring COVID-19 developments.
The Indonesian government has yet to issue an official regulation on the expected reopening at the time of publication, though Luhut laid out some more details during a virtual press conference held this afternoon, covering some pre-departure requirements. So if you’re planning on visiting Bali, make sure you can check all of these off first:
- Eligible foreign travelers are those from countries with a COVID-19 positivity rate below 5 percent (a possible hint for more countries to be included in the list in the near future)
- Incoming foreign travelers must present a negative result from a PCR test, taken at least 3 days before departure
- Foreign visitors must provide a complete proof of vaccination, with the second dose expected to have been administered at least two weeks before departure
- Health insurance with coverage of at least US$100,000 and including treatment for COVID-19
- Proof of payment for accommodation during time in Indonesia
