Bali may reopen to foreign visitors in Indonesia, although caution is advised

Officials said Indonesia is planning to reopen its resort island of Bali to international tourists in October, following a 98 percent decline in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases since the country's worst peak in July.

COVID-19 restrictions on the tourist island were lifted last week, but overseas tourists will still be subjected to tighter health protocols upon arrival to prevent the spread of new versions.

Before accessing the island, some of the steps include providing immunisation certificates, passing an eight-day quarantine, and taking three PCR tests.

“We are preparing Bali for the G20, therefore we will have the experiment by reopening Bali to foreigners,” Sandiaga Uno, the minister of tourism and creative economy, said during a press conference on Monday.

“We don't want to let our defences down because it might allow other new types, such as the delta, to enter Indonesia,” he said.

France, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, Poland, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan are among the countries expected to be welcomed back, according to officials.

Every week, the government assesses the outbreak situation, and Uno said authorities were proceeding cautiously with the reopening in order to avoid a third wave of the pandemic after the second wave, triggered by the highly contagious delta variant, ravaged Indonesia, particularly its most populous islands of Java and Bali, in July and August.

In 2022, Indonesia will take up the G20 leadership from this year's host, Italy.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, it is a year earlier than the original schedule when India — which was supposed to have the presidency in 2022 — agreed to switch the calendar with Indonesia for 2023.

In response to a question from Arab News, Uno claimed that Nusa Dua will be one of the possible places in Bali to hold the G20 main activities.

Other international summits for Indonesia have been held at Bali's Nusa Dua resort cluster, which is home to multiple luxury hotels.