Covidiots caught not wearing face masks forced to DIG GRAVES for coronavirus victims in Indonesia
ANTI-maskers caught without a face covering were forced to dig graves for coronavirus victims, according to reports in Indonesia.
Villagers were given the punishment for breaking Covid rules as authorities battle to contain spiralling infections.
Eight people caught without masks were forced to dig graves in a public cemetery in Ngabetan, East Java, reports The Jakarta Post.
“Hopefully this can create a deterrent,” said a local leader named Suyono.
“There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them.”
He said that the men were not made to handle corpses, which were buried by health officials in protective clothing.
SHOCK TACTICS
Residents already face fines and community service for violating mask rules.
But authorities are increasingly turning to shock tactics in an effort to persuade residents of the risks.
Last week police in Probolinggo, East Java, forced a number of mask refusers to sit in the back of a hearse with a coffin.
Inside, they were made to reflect on their actions and reminded how many people have died from the virus.
The local task force also imposed tough punishments on market traders who broke rules.
Law enforcement co-ordinator Ugas Irwanto said: "We ordered vendors to close down their shop for a week, confiscated violators' IDs for three months, and asked some of them to clean the market and open sewers."
In the capital Jakarta, authorities have put empty coffins - painted in red with the words "Covid-19 victim" - at busy road junctions beside mannequins in hazmat suits.
Gravediggers in the capital have been overwhelmed by the number of deaths.
The city has been forced back into partial lockdown and hospitals are running out of space.
Jakarta’s governor Anies Basweden said: “This is an emergency, more than at the start of the pandemic.”
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Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation with 274million residents, has suffered a non-stop wave of infections since the spring.
It officially has 225,000 coronavirus cases and 8,965 deaths, but experts say the true figures are likely to be much higher.
