Bali, Sep 18 (IANS) The Indonesian government will reopen its resort island of Bali for international visitors from October amid a constant decline in the country's number of new Covid-19 cases, a Minister said here

In a statement on Friday, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said that the country has just emerged from the peak of the second wave of the pandemic triggered by the Delta variant from July to August and has managed to reduce its positivity rate to less than 5 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Covid-19 Task Force recorded the highest daily increase of cases at 56,757 in July 15, but the day-to-day rise dropped sharply to 3,835 on September 17.

"If the number of cases continues to drop like this, we are confident to reopen Bali," Panjaitan told a virtual press conference.

Indonesia will prioritise foreign tourists from countries with a controlled Covid-19 situation.

Authorities will continue to monitor the progress of the pandemic handling every week to ensure that the conditions remain under control so that Bali is safe to reopen.

Friday's announcement comes after the government on Monday announced its decision to lower the level of the four-tiered restrictions on public activities in Bali due to the Covid-19 decline.

--IANS ksk/