Bali reopens two popular beaches for foreigners as coronavirus cases drop

Bali has reopened two of its most popular beaches Canggu and Padang Padang in the Canggu and Padang Padang areas for foreign tourists and not the locals. The overseas travellers are now allowed to surf the beaches as authorities on June 1 said that the Island regretted tourists couldn’t catch the wave, as per local media reports.  

Bali tourism officials told a press conference that the administration wouldn’t like the tourist to sneak through bushes to avoid the beach barricades and get bitten by snakes. The Island of Bali, that witnesses over half a million tourists a month, suspended visas on arrival as of March 20 and halted international flights to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, the Island now claimed that the disease was well under control in the region.  

Badung Tourism Agency chief, Made Badra, was quoted as saying, only two beaches which opened on June 1were for foreign surfers only and not the locals. There is a surfer community of the overseas nationals in the area who requested access to the beaches for surfing as an outdoor activity. He added the community has put out that they would follow the health protocols, and therefore, the administrations have approved the activity.

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Denpasar reopened

As early as last week, the Balinese capital, Denpasar, reopened the markets and local businesses as the region lifted the lockdown with only 235 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to reports. As many as 4 fatalities were recorded so far, meanwhile 34 people recovered from the coronavirus amid warnings that the Island could well be a new emerging hotspot in Indonesia.  

Earlier, the security minister of Indonesia Mohammad Mahfud MD was under fire after he compared the deadly coronavirus to a “wife”. Soon after his statement, the social media users slammed the apparent "joke" by the minister. As per media reports, Mahfud made the comments during an online address to a local university, earlier this week. The Indonesian minister started by asking if the world is going to be holed up forever. Further, he added, people, have to adjust to the situation while still paying attention to their health. 

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(Image Credit: Instagram/Discovabali)