Bali Governor I Wayan Koster has announced a three-step plan to reopen activity in compliance with “new normal” policies. The approach entails reopening the region’s popular tourist destinations to international visitors on Sept. 11.

“To that end, we must surrender ourselves and pray so that we will be graced [with good fortune],” the governor said after participating in a local religious ceremony on Sunday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Koster said on Thursday that he had closed tourist destinations in Bali until further notice through a regulation.

However, the regulation did not stop several regions in the province from reopening access to popular beaches, including Canggu Beach and Labuan Sait Beach in Badung regency, to foreign surfers.

More than a thousand people attended a prayer at the Besakih Temple in Karangasem regency on Sunday, in which they expressed gratitude for the handling of the pandemic on the island and sought blessings prior to the start of a "new normal".

The country’s popular resort island will gradually reopen this month for domestic tourists while maintaining strict health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Bali provincial secretary Dewa Made Indra told reporters.

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