“In response to this policy [from the Transportation Ministry] we cannot close ourselves off, but we can respond by stricter means of screening of people entering Bali,” regional secretary of the Bali administration, Dewa Made Indra, said on Saturday. 

The Indonesian government began allowing limited types of travel early this month, in which public transportations like ferries and airlines are permitted to resume some of their services, after announcing a temporary ban on them in late April as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the archipelago. 

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Most travelers coming through via both Ngurah Rai International Airport and Benoa Port are returning Indonesian migrant workers, thousands of whom were previously subject to rapid tests upon arrival. Indra explained that travelers coming through those two ports of entry will now be subject to swab tests using the PCR method. 

“Other than that, whether they are Indonesian migrant workers or not, [they] must undergo quarantine,” Indra continued. 

Bali has so far confirmed 348 positive COVID-19 cases, including 250 recoveries and four deaths.

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