Indonesia to reopen Bali for int'l visitors in October

The Indonesian government will reopen its resort island of Bali for international visitors in October, as the number of COVID-19 cases has been declining in the country, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said on Friday, reported Xinhua.

The Southeast Asian country has just emerged from the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 transmissions triggered by the Delta variant from July to August and managed to reduce its positivity rate to less than 5 percent, Pandjaitan said.

The COVID-19 Task Force recorded the highest daily increase of cases at 56,757 in July 15, but the day-to-day rise dropped sharply to 3,835 on Sept. 17.

"If the number of cases continues to drop like this, we are confident to reopen Bali," Panjaitan told a virtual press conference.

Indonesia will prioritize foreign tourists from countries with controlled COVID-19 cases. Authorities continue to monitor the progress of the pandemic handling every week to ensure that the conditions remain under control so that Bali is safe to reopen.