BALI, 19 July 2022: Bali Hotels Association advises its member hotels to alert Australian guests to the BIO security checks upon returning from their Bali holidays and launch a CSR programme called “ Leave your shoes with us”.
The move is in response to the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Bali and across Indonesia. Travellers heading for Australia need to take steps to help prevent the accidental introduction of the disease on their return home. Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment was alerted to the outbreak of the FMD in Indonesia with an initial calculation of more than 2000 head of cattle infected in provinces across North Sumatra and East Java.
FMD is not considered a human health risk, but humans can carry the virus on their clothing, shoes, body (particularly the throat and nasal passages) and personal items. Foot and Mouth Disease is not a food safety or public health concern. Commercially produced meat, milk, and dairy products would be safe to consume.
In response, the Australian Federal Minister of Agriculture Murry Watt, that Australian BIO Security Offices is checking all flights returning from Indonesia.
However, the Bali Hotels Association noted that the agriculture minister ruled out a travel ban between Bali and Australia. “We’ve got to keep our relationship with Indonesia strong, for trade, national security and other reasons,” he concluded.
Leave your shoes in Bali
Bali Hotels Association member hotels have been advised to let their guests know of the bio-security checks they may face upon their return to Australia.
In a media statement on Monday, the association said guests who do not wish to take home their shoes or any clothes are welcome to leave them with the hotel, which will then have them cleaned and made available for those communities in need through the Bali Hotels Association CSR Programme. In response to the FMD outbreak, the government in Bali temporarily closed the animal market to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease in Bali. At least 128 head of cattle in four districts in Bali tested positive for foot and mouth disease. Bali has now received around 110,000 doses of the FMD vaccine.
