Aussie businesses in Bali go to war on coronavirus
Australian business owners in Bali are under pressure while Indonesia’s government stumbles to manage a rapidly evolving situation.
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Australian businesses in Bali have declared war on COVID-19 while Indonesia’s government stumbles to manage a rapidly evolving situation.
Maroubra man James Foley has three busy restaurants in Seminyak – Ling Lings, Sushimi and Shooters – and has implemented rigorous codes to help slow the spread of the virus.
“Ling Lings, Sushimi and Shooters will probably close as restaurants but I will keep them open as an essential home delivery food service,” he said.
“Everything is changing daily but if restaurants remain open to the public, I suspect greed and irresponsibility on behalf of the owners.
“I’m aiming to manage this well so we have one month of bad instead of a 12-month crisis.”
For nearly two weeks, Foley has had a program of disinfecting tables and chairs every time a customer leaves, widely available hand sanitiser, complete scrub downs, and staff wearing gloves that are changed regularly.
“We have reduced customer contact as much as possible. My staff chew gum to keep their mouths moist and reduce the movement of breath. Gum act as a filter for droplets,” Mr Foley said.
All of his non-essential staff have gone home and office staff now work from home.
Staff who do register with a temperature are immediately sent home and a medical team will be sent to them – paid for by Mr Foley – if sickness occurs.
He does not want any of his team near a hospital or doctor’s office.
The Australian-owned Finns Recreation Club and Finns Beach Club have also launched a series of protocols with gloved staff polishing cutlery, and tables cleansed every 30 minutes.
While most businesses are checking temperatures of guests and staff, Finns is scrubbing baby high chairs and training staff how to handle dirty dishes and how to avoid touching the lip of a used glass and how to handle cutlery.
Restaurant tables are no longer pre-set and no body contact such as shaking hands or air kissing has made way for the traditional Balinese pray hands to great regulars.
Bartenders and bag check attendants wear gloves and handling money is now the exclusive preserve of a dedicated cashier.
Twenty-six hand sanitiser stations have been created and there are bottles of the product within easy reach of guests at all times.
The Canggu Community School, which neighbours Finns Creation Club, and has more than 100 Australian students, has switched to online learning and closed its doors.
In Ubud, Aussie hotel owner Kelly Sturgeon has her staff at Bisma Cottages cleaning all surfaces daily in the rooms with anti-bacterial cleaner.
Masks are worn and hot wash laundry with bedding changed daily has been implemented and stringent hygiene protocols in the kitchen.
Anti-bacterial soap now rules the bathrooms.
“We are also allowing guests to delay bookings without any penalty and we will hold deposits for the next six months. Even if guests want to switch from July to October. We must be flexible and support the decisions of our guests,” Ms Sturgeon said.
The developments come as nine Australian surfers remain trapped on their boat having been refused entry to the Indonesian island of Sumba.
Ten days ago the Australian men – who are mostly from Newcastle in New South Wales – cleared a coronavirus screening before heading off on their surfing jaunt.
Brydon Roper, who is from Maitland, but lives in Bali, called for help on an Indonesian social media forum.
“The harbour master is not letting us off the boat due to coronavirus. The East of Sumba have restrictions on westerners coming here. We were tested by government officials before boarding the boat in Lombok and registered with the harbour master to arrive today (Saturday),” Mr Roper said.
According to the Head of Port Office and Harbour Authority Waingapu Port, Mr Anis Kumanireng, fuel, food and water has been dispatched to the 15 men – which includes an American, a guide and four crew.
“The Phinishi Bulan Baru ship entered Waingapu port on Saturday morning. We refused them to enter the port according to the instructions of the East Sumba Regent (Bupati) since March 8 about the closing of tourist visits related to the coronavirus,” he said.
The boat is now preparing to sail to Labuan Bajo in Flores.
“We have still seen planes landing and ferries coming and going,” Mr Roper said.
The boat came within three kilometres of the harbour to refuel and for other logistics, which Mr Kumanireng said was permitted for “humanitarian reasons”.
“The crew and passengers are not permitted to leave the ship. We don’t want their arrival to make the people here angry. Because in this port there are many fishing communities.
We have told the boat to leave the port immediately. Port health office officials have checked and passengers already have a yellow card stating they are free of the coronavirus,” he said.
BALI ‘UNPREPARED’ FOR OUTBREAK
But as the killer virus sweeps around the world, the beach clubs and restaurants on holiday island of Bali remain party central for young Aussies, despite the island being shockingly unprepared to handle a mass outbreak of COVID-19.
On Saturday night 600 people – including dozens of Aussies – danced on tables, kissed and cavorted at the Australian owned Motel Mexicola club in Seminyak.
The Bali Government also announced school closures from Monday.
Indonesia has reported 100 confirmed cases of the contagion with five deaths – but unofficially the number is said to run into the thousands.
Indonesia’s minister of transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, has tested positive and is undergoing hospital treatment.
The head of Bali’s health services, Ketut Suaraja, has all but admitted the island is woefully unprepared to handle mass outbreaks.
“This is a new virus. In Bali, we do not have the ability to detect it. All provinces in Indonesia have not been able to, so [tests] must be sent to Jakarta,” Mr Suaraja said.
When people show symptoms and present at hospital, they are isolated in the hospital, however, it is understood that hundreds of people are nursing symptoms at home.
Thermal scanners at the airport have led to 120 people being refused a visa at Bali immigration and returned to their home country.
Diagnostic testing requires every sample to be sent to Jakarta, which is the only place in the whole of Indonesia that has the appropriate equipment to diagnose COVID-19.
Apart from a mass disinfectant treatment, the government has enforced no daily protocols upon hotels, restaurants, beach clubs or other destinations that attract tourists.
They continue to trade with guests appearing oblivious to the practice of “social distancing”.
Last week, a British woman died in a Bali hospital, triggering a crisis management at two exclusive hotels.
The Four Seasons Hotel in Jimbaran Bay sent 53 staff – nearly 10 per cent of the resort’s team – who had contact with the deceased woman’s husband, home. The man, who was quarantined in hospital, later tested negative to the virus.
The resort had already implement heightened hygiene practices, with hand sanitiser available throughout the hotel and masks available upon request, but the hotel has not closed any facilities, including restaurants, bars, swimming pools, a children’s club, or spa.
Meanwhile, Capella – an ultra-glamorous tented camp in Ubud where the woman stayed before being admitted to hospital – is now quarantined while new arrivals are being relocated to nearby resorts as the camp undergoes a deep disinfectant clean.
The Bali Heath Service has added just 35 isolation spaces in three hospitals with a contingency plan of 50 hospital beds at the Udayana University and Bali Mandara hospital, as an emergency fund of $1.5 million has been created.
“What we are dealing with now is not Mount Agung. If Mount Agung, we can isolate a radius of four kilometres. But this virus we cannot identify,” said Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati who conceded that a temporary lockdown of the island is under consideration.
Tourism has collapsed by 40 per cent with just 9000 people arriving daily instead of 15,000.
A record 1.23 million Aussies landed on the tropical paradise island last year despite recent seismic events including an horrific earthquake in Lombok, volcanic disruptions from Mount Agung, killer methanol poisonings and problems with inebriated tourists.
Richard Flax, the founder of the international insurer IGH and expert in risk mitigation on the island, said that if anyone suspects they have the virus they should immediately isolate.
“Lock yourself away from anybody. Do not get on a plane because the likely hood of spreading the infection is huge. The tests only confirm the virus. People will know they have it because they’ll have a cough bad enough to kill you and a sore throat and fever,” he warned.
Hand sanitiser and face masks have virtually disappeared from supermarket shelves and police are taking action against businesses that are price gouging or hoarding masks to sell to Brunei.
Originally published as Aussie businesses in Bali go to war on coronavirus
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