KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Indonesia has eased its COVID-19 restrictions on the popular tourist island of Bali, although international travellers will face stricter protocols on arrival to help curb the spread of new variants, a senior minister said on Monday. Tourist spots in most parts of the island will now accept visitors, maritime and investment minister Luhut Panjaitan told a virtual conference, as long as they adhere to strict protocols, such as proving their vaccination status on a government-verified phone app. "The rapidly improving COVID-19 situation in Java and Bali has caused the PPKM level to decline faster than we expected," Panjaitan told the conference, referring to Indonesia's system of social mobility restrictions.
The level of social mobility restrictions in Bali will be evaluated weekly. International visitors, however, must undergo an eight-day quarantine and take three PCR tests before they enter the island. "Firm action" would be taken against those who flout the restrictions, Panjaitan said, but he did not say what those penalties would include. Baca Juga: UK employers, stung by new levies, call for overhaul of tax system Later at the conference, Indonesia's health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that borders to the country would be tightened.