Bali begins to reopen after 3-month virus lockdown
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Indonesia’s resort island of Bali reopened after a three-month virus lockdown Thursday, allowing local people and stranded foreign tourists to resume public activities before foreign arrivals resume in September.
The local government began lifting the limits Thursday, but tourists will face stringent rules in hotels, restaurants and on beaches, Bali Gov. I Wayan Koster said.
Koster told a news conference ahead of the reopening the island will gradually reopen shuttered places to locals and the foreigners stranded there during the outbreak. The island will open to Indonesians from other parts of the country on July 31 and new foreign arrivals on Sept. 11.
The government established guidelines for reopening tourist spots and may close certain areas again if infections spike, he said.
Tourism is the main source of income for the island that is mainly Hindu in the mostly Muslim archipelago nation.
More than 5 million foreigners arrived in Bali each year prior to the pandemic, which caused the numbers to dive.
The total number of stranded tourists in Bali is not known, but more than 169,000 travelers came to Bali in March before the island closed its doors, according to government data. The data showed that some 2,500 travelers had extended their visas to avoid penalties for overstaying them before Indonesia’s government granted all tourists automatic extensions in late March.
Bali has recorded more than 1,900 cases of COVID-19, including 25 deaths. Indonesia has confirmed more than 68,000 cases and 3,359 fatalities, the most in Southeast Asia.
