TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bali Governor Wayan Koster said the island is ready to welcome foreign tourists starting October 14, 2021. He said the COVID-19 trend in the province has been improving.

“It is now possible to open doors to foreign tourists because the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bali has improved judging by several indicators,” said Koster, Tuesday, October 5.

Koster said the indicators included the drop in daily case numbers. “Yesterday (October 4), the positive case number has reached 52, and 125 patients have recovered with the recovery rate reaching 96 percent,” said Koster, adding that the number of deaths also continued to decline.

Other indicators were the positivity rate at one percent, and the hospital bed occupancy rate had drastically plummeted. “So on a good day according to local Balinese wisdom, on October 14, international flights will be opened for foreign tourists to enter Bali,” said Koster.

Foreign travelers entering Bali are required to have been vaccinated twice, submit a negative result of PCR test taken at least three days before departure, and fill out the E-HAC app which is integrated with the PeduliLindungi app and the Welovebali app.

Upon arrival at Ngurah Rai Airport, tourists must undergo a PCR test then wait an hour for the result. They must also undergo quarantine for eight days and get tested for COVID-19 again. “If the result comes back negative, they are welcome to travel in Bali,” Koster explained.

He pinned hopes that the arrival of foreign tourists will not cause a spike in new COVID-19 cases. “Hopefully Bali's tourism can recover, the economy can recover,” said the governor.

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ANTARA