Bali governor says viral video of party ignoring social distancing was from March
It looks like ignorance fully displayed on social media is what it takes to unleash netizens’ wrath in Indonesia (and pretty much elsewhere, let’s be real), to the point that even the Bali governor has weighed in on the Sunday night party involving a bunch of foreigners on the island that has gone viral for blatantly ignoring social distancing measures amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
A little heads up though, the governor’s statement is a bit of a head-scratcher.
“With regards to the Canggu [party], it has been posted numerous times on social media, and after I checked it turns out it was from March,” Bali Governor Wayan Koster said yesterday, as quoted by Kumparan.
According to Koster, the video was intentionally made to disturb peace on the island. He also reportedly asked that the public not be provoked by the reports that are circulating.
First, a little background for those who might have missed it: a group of foreigners gathered for a not-so-low-key house party on Sunday night, as seen in videos that appear to have been taken during the event. Those videos made its rounds all over social media, sparking outrage from local residents over the fact that the revelers had ignored stay-at-home advisories from the provincial government.
The videos were shared via Instagram story, with at least one of the people who shared about the party having over 211,000 followers on the platform. The footage showed at least a dozen people gathering in what at first appeared to be a villa, where a bartender can be seen serving drinks, while a DJ was pumping tunes from one corner of the room.
More clips have emerged since word got around about this gathering, showing at least one Indonesian had attended the party as a guest while another was hired as bar staff.
Roby Septiadi, who heads Badung Police, confirmed to Kompas that the party did take place on Sunday evening, and it was attended by 15 people. No one was apprehended for throwing or attending the party, because they did not exactly break any laws.
However, at least two follow-up videos — one posted by a local authority from a village in Badung, where the party was reportedly held — have been posted online since, where the foreigners who threw the party conveyed their apology to the public.
“We just kind of want to say that we do totally understand the measures that the government has put in place to stop the spread of COVID[-19] and if it didn’t look like we were obeying those rules we do genuinely apologize,” one man can be heard saying in the video.
In general, the challenges to enforce social distancing measures seem to be pretty widespread here in Bali, with both foreigners and local residents ignoring official calls to stay at home. Last weekend also saw crowds gathering at a local park in Renon, Denpasar, sitting around in groups and exercising. Even today, some people appeared to force their way to access Pererenan Beach in Badung this morning, despite the entrance being blocked, as seen in photos that have circulated on Instagram.
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