Photographer shares photos of abandoned Kuta beach area in Bali due to Covid-19

Tough times.

Jane Zhang | August 13, 2020, 02:09 PM

The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been — and will continue to be — felt all around the world.

One photographer's photos of Kuta, a popular tourist destination, show the extent of the extreme impact of Covid-19 on Bali.

Photos of abandoned streets

Photographer Jon Gwyther shared a series of photos on Facebook on Aug. 9 of Kuta, which have since gone viral.

He shared that, as he walked the streets of Kuta, he felt an uncomfortable feeling begin to overwhelm him:

"Everything I knew, everything I remembered, had seemingly vanished, replaced by the view of a new harsh reality.

A world of cold emptiness surrounded me, an unexpected every day seemingly decimated by an unseen enemy, leaving a silent trail of collateral damage - the very people that made this tiny part of the world so colorful."

Gwyther told Daily Mail Australia that despite many people being unemployed due to the lack of tourists and even fearing if they will have enough food, the community, as a collective, is handling it with dignity:

"The human devastation is painful as hell. It's just sad, but the Balinese are doing it with such dignity.

There is no screaming protests about wearing masks to get back to work. They're sacrificing their individuality for the greater good, and everywhere you go there are temperature checks, hand sanitiser and people are being respectful to one another"

Here are some photos of the abandoned streets:

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

And some of the few people he encountered on the abandoned streets:

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Photo via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.

Gwyther shared that he came across a man sitting alone on his phone who told him, "I don't think Covid will kill me, but I may die of hunger".

You can read Gwyther's full post, which has been shared more than 1,000 times, here:

Bali reopened for domestic tourists

As of Aug. 13, Indonesia has reported 130,718 cases of Covid-19.

On Aug. 2, the Jakarta Post reported that the island officially reopened for domestic tourism on Jul. 31, after a five month hiatus.

The next phase of reopening will be opening to international tourists, which is currently set to occur on Sep. 11.

Top photos via Facebook / Jon Gwyther.