Two Australians who have long called Bali home have revealed how the island paradise is at breaking point due to Covid-19.
Chef Dean Keddell and Margaret Barry, who runs the Bali Children Foundation, both fear the nation may never fully recover from the pandemic.
Tourism numbers are at an all-time low, beaches and bars remain deserted and the usually bustling streets in places such as Kuta and Legian look like ghost towns.
The sad development comes as Indonesia reports more than 1,000 Covid cases each day and more than 86,000 deaths since the pandemic started in 2020.
Overcrowded hospitals are also struggling to cope with the surging flood of patients infected with Covid, and much needed oxygen is in limited supply.
Beaches in Bali are closed due to the pandemic, as Covid threatens to destroy the island paradise (pictured, Seminyak on July 18)
The usually bustling streets in Legian and Kuta (pictured) have become ghost towns, with case numbers and deaths rising daily
Keddell is trying to stay positive, but he admitted life is dire for many locals.
He has also been forced to close his two restaurants for the past 15 months and turn away his 130-strong staff, some of whom can't afford clothing.
'Hope seems to be slipping away,' he told A Current Affair. 'I've lived here for more than 15 years and it's never been like this.'
Rather than sit on his hands, Keddell has created a cookbook, Our Bali, Your Bali, in a bid to raise money for local charities.
All proceeds from the book have been
