Bali Governor Wayan Koster has issued a new circular reaffirming that all restaurants in Bali must not serve dine-in customers and that they must close by 8 pm starting today.
The circular comes after restaurants maintained their normal operating hours and remained open until 10 pm.
Business owners argued that hours for restaurants were not set under the Bali Governor’s circular regulating the ongoing Emergency Enforcement of Restriction on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM).
Indeed, the original Emergency PPKM circular issued by the Bali Provincial Government on July 2 did not include when restaurants and other food establishments are expected to close. It only mandates that restaurants serve takeaway or delivery orders, but not dine-in.
“The central government has also asked us to reaffirm in the form of a revision that specifies operating hours more clearly,” I Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, who heads Bali’s COVID-19 Task Force department of law enforcement and discipline, explained.
Bali’s Emergency PPKM technically started as soon as it was first announced by the central government on July 1, and while some parts of the islands have seen busier days, it appears that mobility remains high across the province even under the new tightened restrictions.
