Reopenings and Resurgences

 Although the prognosticated month for Bali's reopening for foreign tourists is July, it appears that two new SARS-CoV-2 virus variants on the island may possibly throw a monkey wrench into the plans. Moreover, the "plans", at best, are only in the minds of Balinese government, as there has been no confirmation for any such reopening plans from the Indonesian central government in Jakarta, and the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, has stated only that it (the reopening) "might be possible if the COVID-19 situation on the island is under control"--a pretty damn big if.

I really don't know what these poor folks here are going to do. There are many more beggars on the street now, little children carrying empty convenience store cups at the traffic lights in hopes of collecting coins and small bills, older women on the beach selling worthless tourist trinkets on an island where there are no tourists. The tourist industry jobs are gone, small warungs continue to close their doors. The woman who owns the warung just up the street has asked me for a substantial amount of money twice now. I was able to give it to her the first time but not the second, as I am also low on money, having just paid the yearly immigration fee. 

At the same time, a second warung has opened on my street. The food, as I have found, is quite good. I had a wonderful baked gurami fish with rice. But how long can they stay open? Who will come. Certainly the owners must be hoping and praying for that July opening to come through. 

I read in the Sanur Weekly today that a 60 year old Italian man was arrested in Legian (part of Kuta) for being homeless and begging, which he has been doing, sadly, since shortly after the COVID pandemic struck last year, apparently living on the streets. He is now being processed for deportation.

In other news, a 46 year old Indonesian man has received what the newspaper calls "a proper beating" from Bali residents after he was caught stealing money from an offering box at a local temple (a pretty low thing to do indeed). The man is now being treated at a local hospital for, as the paper describes it, "several bruises and a broken leg". Apparently the temple box thefts had been going on since sometime in 2020 and the man had succeeded in collecting some 150 million Rupiah, or about 10,000 US dollars, which he used to buy land. The moral of this story is don't steal money in Bali. And for the most part, people don't.                                                    

Lastly, rabies has returned to the island of Bali, most especially just now in the Klungkung regency, which is now labeled a 'red zone'. Like we need another epidemic, right? When I first came to Bali, some ten years ago, the island was in the midst of a major rabies outbreak affecting nearly all parts of the island. Extreme measures had to be taken, in the form of culling, for the most part. Loose dogs were killed on a 'better safe than sorry' basis. More than 130 people died during this outbreak and more than 130,000 were given post-exposure treatment.