JakartaPost-May 20, 2022
The Bali administration has requested that the central government give Bali a COVID-19 endemic status to boost tourism. “I ask you to please determine the endemic status for Bali to accelerate the recovery of Bali’s tourism and economy,” Bali Governor Wayan Koster wrote in an official letter signed on Tuesday to the health minister. Koster emphasized that Bali tourism and economic recovery were urgent as Bali had been facing its deepest slump for more than two years. The governor said Bali deserved the endemic status as the number of COVID-19 cases had decreased significantly. After a two-year slump, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has recorded a significant increase in international tourist arrivals in the past few months, with some 3,000 people arriving per day. Following the reopening of Bali tourism for international travelers in March, regular international flights to Bali were reactivated. As of Tuesday, at least 17 international routes have been reactivated. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that COVID-19 was far from becoming an endemic disease and could still trigger large outbreaks around the globe. WHO Health Emergencies Program director Michael Ryan said last month that it was wrong to think that if COVID-19 settled down and became endemic, it would mean the end of the problem. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/05/20/bali-requests-endemic-status-to-boost-tourism.html.
