Tourists visiting the Gili Islands in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have reportedly made their way to neighboring Bali, following the NTB provincial government’s decision on Sunday to close access to the popular destination from Bali amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Denpasar Court yesterday sentenced a 23-year-old Balinese man to eight years in prison for murdering his wife after a quarrel over her Facebook post. 

“Hereby sentencing the defendant I Ketut Gede Ariasta to eight years’ imprisonment,” presiding judge Heriyanti told the court, as quoted by Kompas.

The Bali provincial government declared an “alert” level status for the island amid the COVID-19 pandemic today, followed by an advisory for local residents to stay at home and avoid crowded places.

The Denpasar Police suspect that a male foreigner, who is identified as X by local authorities, died after consuming too much tuak, a traditional Balinese liquor, and not due to the novel coronavirus, after videos of his evacuation by a team of medical staff in Denpasar went viral yesterday.

UPDATE March 18: West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zulkieflimansyah has clarified to the media that access to Gili Islands is only closed for tourists coming in directly from Bali. Additionally, tourists who are still in either Gili Trawangan, Gili Air or Gili Meno, can still leave the islands at any time.