Opening Of Indonesia pushed to end of 2020?

[outofofficebrb]

I post these links on Australia, it's relevance being that it has one the world's strictest covid border controls, & also that Indonesia for the last few months has stated that Australia is in the top few countries it wants to restart tourism travel with.

International travel is discouraged across the world, but Australia's outbound travel ban sets it apart

New Zealand: Residents strongly advised not to travel overseas, but not banned from doing so

Singapore: Residents not banned from travelling, but will not have their healthcare costs covered if they go abroad and come back with the virus

Could COVID-19 red and green zones save Australia's economy?

The AHPPC expert medical panel is developing Commonwealth guidelines for what constitutes a coronavirus hotspot.

Mr Morrison indicated he would like Australia to pursue a similar system to Denmark, which classifies countries as either "open" or "quarantine" countries based on whether it has a sufficient testing regime and there are fewer than 20 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in one week.

Travel advice is changed from orange - avoid all non-essential travel - to yellow - travel with caution. Travellers to yellow countries do not have to quarantine for 14 days upon return home.


The Prime Minister said a few days ago he would love for international travel to return, and the last week he has been pushing very hard for the internal borders to open up in Oz

Australia and Indonesia have a mutually beneficial relationship and close ties. There's nothing more that tourism and tourists would want than for travel to open up again

I think what Australia has done regarding their border is great. If Indonesia states they want to restart tourism travel with Australia, how does Australia feel about it? Do they feel the same way? My guess is that Australians contribute to Indonesia's tourism industry and economy significantly, hence their desire to want to restart tourism with Australia, but the tourism dollars spent in Australia from Indonesians is probably not nearly as much. Given the poor testing rate, I don't think the current data is an accurate or good snapshot of what may actually be happening so the incremental benefit of tourism dollars vs risk does not seem to play well for Australia supporting tourism and borders to open up to Indonesia. That is my hypothesis.

I have a friend who lives in New Zealand and it sounds like getting flights out is the bigger problem even if one wanted to travel. @WetPup

 

[DownUnderwater Dan]

how does Australia feel about it?

There's no straight answer. A number of Australians think that staying in isolation & lockdowns until there's a vaccine is the only way out, whereas the Prime Minister this past week has made it firmly clear that that's not going to happen. Everyday tabloids in Oz are reporting covid deaths, but it's exactly the same as before, people that die of heart attacks or cancer are tallied as covid deaths just because they were covid infected. Which adds to more fear & misunderstanding.

I'm sure that on the business side, Australian big businesses want all borders to reopen ASAP, domestic & international. Airlines are openly criticising the closed borders

 

[Trailboss123]

I can’t speak for the entire country but the protocols and rules in Cozumel make me comfortable. Yes there are tourists who choose to disobey the mandatory masks but I plan to stay, eat and dive at the same place. And cross my fingers.
I worry more about the airport and plane...

Where have you decided to stay, eat and dive?

 

[GirlonFire]

Where have you decided to stay, eat and dive?

Blue Angel is a strong contender.

 

[Trailboss123]

Blue Angel is a strong contender.

I think that is a good call. Not where I would stay and dive normally in a non-pandemic world, but given the current circumstances in Cozumel, it is probably where I would stay and for many others on this board, it would be their first choice regardless.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I think that is a good call. Not where I would stay and dive normally in a non-pandemic world, but given the current circumstances in Cozumel, it is probably where I would stay and for many others on this board, it would be their first choice regardless.

Hi! How have you been? Can you please enlighten me as to why Blue Angel would be a contender given what you just described? Thanks!

 

[Mod63]

Look what happened to the optimism from July about traveling in Europe.

Short version: It's complicated .
Longer version: We are travelling back and forth across most of Europe without restrictions. People have been on vacation. We have seen an increase in infections, which was predictable. Using data from Germany, we see that the simple measures of keeping distance, washing hands and wearing a mask do make a difference. We have had a spike in cases. The two main sources of those were private gatherings like weddings and returning holiday makers. In the second group it's not so much the "party faction" but people returning to their home countries to visit family. Oh, and we doubled our tests in the last month. The parts of Germany that have already returned to school do already see a drop in new cases.
Despite all this, there has been no rise in ICU beds needed and hospitalisation rate is at 10% of infected, down from 20%. Some virologists are saying that we can affort even more "found" cases without running into trouble, so the next weeks will be quite interesting as there will be a lot of discussions on how to move forward.

 

[Indah]

Short version: It's complicated .
Longer version: We are travelling back and forth across most of Europe without restrictions. People have been on vacation. We have seen an increase in infections, which was predictable. Using data from Germany, we see that the simple measures of keeping distance, washing hands and wearing a mask do make a difference. We have had a spike in cases. The two main sources of those were private gatherings like weddings and returning holiday makers. In the second group it's not so much the "party faction" but people returning to their home countries to visit family. Oh, and we doubled our tests in the last month. The parts of Germany that have already returned to school do already see a drop in new cases.
Despite all this, there has been no rise in ICU beds needed and hospitalisation rate is at 10% of infected, down from 20%. Some virologists are saying that we can affort even more "found" cases without running into trouble, so the next weeks will be quite interesting as there will be a lot of discussions on how to move forward.

I agree, but I was thinking how regulations changed completely, sometimes overnight. Numbers of people flying went up....and dropped again.

 

[chillyinCanada]

It's unfortunate that Indonesia will never have adequate testing.

Hopefully, something else will work out soon.

 

[Trailboss123]

Hi! How have you been? Can you please enlighten me as to why Blue Angel would be a contender given what you just described? Thanks!

Doing well and thanks for asking. I am not an AI guy and I am always a stay downtown guy. I enjoy the downtown vibe and going out to enjoy all of the great restaurants/bars at night after a day of diving; walking a couple of blocks to my preferred dive op, etc.

Given the current nature of things in Cozumel with limited downtown food/restaurant options and also limited hotels, it seems like an all inclusive might be a safer and better way to go for the time being. Particularly for a first timer. Based on the feedback from those I trust that do stay at AI's, Blue Angel would fit the bill for me. Still close to downtown, sounds like the food is adequate, boats aren't cattle boats, reputation on the Board is super solid. Scuba Club Cozumel might also interest me given their location, reputation and the on site shore diving, but I think Blue Angel would be a better fit for me if I had to go in that direction. I have been toying with an October trip myself. My preferred places to stay are not open yet or so it seems. I am monitoring things daily.