Bali: Over 1,000 people attend mass prayer as govt eases COVID-19 lockdown

As Bali prepares to reopen the island to tourist, over 1,000 people attended a mass prayers at Besakih Hindu temple in a bid to express their gratitude towards the handling of coronavirus and to seek blessings for the start of a ‘new normal’. The Indonesian resort island has been shut for over three months due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. However, as Bali’s provincial secretary Dewa Made Indra announced that the island will gradually reopen this month for domestic travellers, people attended prayer in the town of Karangasem. 

According to an international media outlet, Bali currently has nearly 1,849 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the deadly virus has claimed only 20 deaths so far. Even though the island as comparatively less number of cases, Indra reportedly said that people with reopening people have to maintain a ‘strict health protocol’. As per reports, the Southeast Asian island will most likely reopen to foreign arrivals in September. 

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COVID-19 hammers Bali's economy 

The reopening of the island comes as the coronavirus lockdown hammered the local economy. While Tourism is Bali’s main source of income, the travel restrictions around the world led to the economy plunging drastically. In a bid to revive the hard-hit economy of the island, Bali’s hospitality executive Yoga Iswara reportedly said that tourism-related businesses are also preparing to reopen, however, with health protocols. Iswara also added that the government aims to improve the island for the time when it opens for international tourists. 

Last month, the Balinese capital, Denpasar, reopened the markets and local businesses as the region lifted the lockdown. The island also reopened two of its beaches Canggu and Padang Padang in the Canggu and Padang Padang areas. Meanwhile, Indonesia currently has over 63,759 positive cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 3,171 lives in the country. 

(Image: Instagram/Discovabali)

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