I started documenting COVID-19 in Bali since it made its way from Wuhan, China in December 2019. Thousands of lives were either lost or disrupted while it continues to infected millions across the globe since the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic.
The coronavirus causes a disease called COVID-19, with symptoms such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. It can be deadly, particularly in people over the age of 60 or with underlying health conditions.
In response, companies have canceled events and ramped up efforts to avoid the spread of misinformation. Meanwhile, scientists around the world have tried to figure out exactly how the virus works, in the hopes that they can develop a cure or treatment. Most people continue to stay at home to try to slow down the pace at which COVID-19 spreads through populations.
During this pandemic, I have been documenting travel throughout Indonesia especially for visitors and expats based in Bali. I try to round up and report as much as I can on the virus, the illness it causes, things you can do to protect yourself, and the way the people and businesses have been affected here.
How many cases have been identified in Indonesia?
As of November 29th, 2020, as many as 528,000 cases have been confirmed in Indonesia with 16,646 deaths and 442,219 recoveries recorded so far.
WHO is working with the Indonesian Government to monitor the situation and prevent the further spread of disease.
For an official tally from the Indonesian government-mandated COVID-19 Task Force, click here
How dangerous is the coronavirus in Bali?
If an illness isn’t too severe (and kills only a small percentage of people), but it’s highly transmissible, it can still be devastating. An easily transmitted illness that kills a small percentage of the people it infects can still cause a lot of deaths, precisely because so many people get sick.
Most people who get COVID-19 in Bali who have mild or moderate symptoms can recover with the right treatment. If you become aware of symptoms early such as a cough, fever and difficulty breathing, seek medical care immediately- but, call the closest treatment facility by telephone first.
How easily can the virus spread?
The virus spreads when an infected person sneezes or coughs. Coughs and sneezes produce little droplets of mucus and saliva. If these droplets make it into another person’s eyes, mouth, or nose, they can get sick. The viruses in those little droplets can also fall onto surfaces, like tables or doorknobs — if someone touches that surface and touches their eyes, mouth, or nose, they can also get sick.
The virus is now spreading all over the world. Indonesia remains to have the highest cases in SE Asia.
Can we treat this virus?
Scientists are searching for antivirals that work against the new coronavirus. Remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences under the brand Veklury, is the first drug to gain approval from the F.D.A. for the treatment of Covid-19
There is no cure yet for Covid-19. Only one treatment, a drug called remdesivir, has been approved by the F.D.A. for the disease, and research suggests it may provide only a modest benefit to patients. The F.D.A. has granted emergency use authorization to some other treatments, but their effectiveness against Covid-19 has yet to be demonstrated in large-scale, randomized clinical trials.
This list provides a snapshot of the latest research on the coronavirus, but does not constitute medical endorsements. Always consult your doctor about treatments for Covid-19.
New additions and recent updates:
• Regeneron’s antibody cocktail receives emergency use authorization from the F.D.A. Nov. 21
• An antibody treatment called bamlanivimab receives emergency use authorization from the F.D.A. Nov. 10
• Remdesivir is approved as the first drug to treat Covid-19. Oct. 23
• A trial of Eli Lilly’s antibody therapy was halted. Oct. 13
I will update and expand the list as new evidence emerges. For details on evaluating treatments, see the N.I.H. Covid-19 Treatment Guidelines.
What can I do to protect myself and others?
Stay home if you’re feeling sick, and wear a mask if you go out. And If everyone wears them, some studies show they could help slow the spread of the virus. Wash your hands every time you touch something, and keep your distance from others in public. Stay away from large groups, especially inside.
If I already had COVID-19, am I immune?
The safest answer to this is no, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that people who got sick once with COVID-19 can’t get sick again. Also, who’s to say whether you had a false reading the first time you had symptoms.
What’s happening in Indonesia?
Updated: November 29th, 2020
Latest update: Protests relating to changes in local labor laws have been taking place in various provinces and may continue. Monitor local news and avoid protests as they can turn violent with little notice.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration (DGI) is no longer automatically extending expired visas or stay permits under COVID-19 emergency arrangements. DGI advises holders of expired visas or stay-permits in Indonesia to apply immediately so that a valid one can be issued. Overstaying your permit may result in fines, detention, and even deportation. Flight options in and out of Indonesia are still very limited and could become worse.
COVID-19 is widespread in Indonesia with continuing transmission across the country. If you’re confirmed as having COVID-19, you will be placed into a quarantine facility. Domestic travel restrictions and social distancing measures are in place for many locations. In Jakarta, large scale social restrictions (PSBB) are in effect, including widespread closures of public venues and reduced public transport. Follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor the media for the latest update.
When will the COVID-19 pandemic will end?
It’s impossible to say with any degree of certainty just how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last.
The ‘end’ to a plague by definition is the elimination, reduction of new cases- the complete wiping out of the virus.
Estimating its duration in a global population depends on how we all behave, which can be much harder to model.
The future depends on a lot of unknowns, including whether people develop lasting immunity to the virus, whether seasonality affects its spread, and — perhaps most importantly — the choices made by governments and individuals.
It’s hard to figure out how often people without symptoms spread COVID-19.
What is even harder to understand are the parents who believe their kids can’t spread COVID-19 to other people even if they have mild or no symptoms.
I see kids running around the immigration office here in Jimbaran all the time. Seems as though both the parents and staff believe that once you show no high fever and sanitize your hands, your virus-free. That is not the case. Leave your kids at home if you can’t control them.
Who’s most at risk from the coronavirus in Indonesia?
If you have older family members, friends, or work around people that are over 60 years old, or have underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer, Then you should respect them by keeping your distance and offering them assistance if needed.
Why are younger people getting severe cases of corona?
Because they still think they’re from the planet Krypton or some type of superhero. But this is no laughing matter, tragic stories of young people getting gravely sick and dying are starting surface throughout the world.
After recovering, COVID-19 patients struggle to know when to stop isolating.
There is a lot of conflicting advice here, doctors say that people can stop isolating once they’ve been fever-free for 72 hours, their other symptoms have improved, and it’s been at least seven days since they first felt sick.
There is limited information available about how patients recover. It isn’t something people like to share.
There is no harm in staying home, so if you can food delivered for you and your family and limiting your outings, that would be good.
The best graphs and data for tracking the coronavirus in Indonesia
While many experts have cautioned, even up-to-the-minute maps are effectively operating with a delay. Infected people can take up to 14 days to develop symptoms, and they might wait even longer for a test — if they’re tested at all.
So, it will take a while to see what’s really going on if ever. You should never rely on one single data source. Instead, use several together due to each source having its own limitations.
Johns Hopkins 2019 Novel Coronavirus Visual Dashboard
Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) has assembled one of the simplest ways to track the virus worldwide. The map aggregates data from 17 sources, including the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and several individual governments. The site tallies the total cases by country or hotspot, the number of deaths, and more optimistically, the number of people who have recovered.
New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases per Day
91-DIVOC is home to many data-forward, high-quality, interactive, and informative visualizations made during the global pandemic created by Prof. Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider. I hope you’ll spend some time and nerd out on data with me! :)- wade
Worldometer was voted as one of the best free reference websites by the American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library association in the world.
Worldometer data is also trusted and used by the UK Government, Johns Hopkins CSSE, the Government of Thailand, the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Sri Lanka, Government of Vietnam, Financial Times, The New York Times, Business Insider, BBC, and many others.
What is contact tracing?
Contact tracing is the process of identifying, assessing, and managing people who have been exposed to a disease to prevent onward transmission. When systematically applied, contact tracing will break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 and is essential to Indonesia’s public health and controlling the coronavirus in Indonesia.
This may be Indonesia’s weak point and a big reason their numbers continue to increase. Government officials say that patients are sometimes unwilling to provide their contact information either due to a lack of trust or fear of possible expulsion from the communities they reside in. Indonesians will typically avoid being traced by telling authorities they can’t remember their activities over the last 14 days.
Contact tracing for COVID-19 requires identifying people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and following them up daily for 14 days from the last point of exposure.
Is it impossible to count everyone with COVID-19?
There’s no way for public health experts to count every person who has coronavirus in Indonesia at a given time. Instead, they combine different sources of data to make the best-possible estimate of what disease outbreaks look like.
The new COVID-19 surge may be harder to contain
Recently, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that a second wave of the novel coronavirus in Indonesia will be far more dire because it is likely to coincide with the start of the flu season.
Coming soon articles for coronavirus in Indonesia
- Emergency COVID-19 vaccines will have to convince a skeptical public
- You can’t find ‘super-spreader’ businesses with old GPS data
- Coronavirus testing shouldn’t be this complicated
- The new coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist
- Personal privacy matters during a pandemic — but less than it might at other times
- Here’s how hospitals are keeping up emergency services during COVID-19
- Masks may be good, but the messaging around them has been very bad
Coronavirus in Indonesia How Tos
- Everything you wanted to know about self-quarantine
- A germophobe’s guide to a clean phone
- How to make your own hand sanitizer
- How to debunk COVID-19 conspiracy theories
- Apps aren’t a reliable way to measure blood oxygen levels
- How do you deal with people who refuse to wear a mask?
- How to stop your glasses from fogging up when you wear a mask
Current conditions in Bali: Here
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