Face mask rebels in east Java have been ordered to dig graves for coronavirus victims as punishment.
Eight people who refused to wear face masks in Gresik regency were made to dig graves at a public cemetery in Ngabetan village.
The people being punished did not participate in funeral services but two were assigned to dig each grave.
Cerme district head Suyono said: 'There are only three available grave diggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them.
Grave diggers wearing coronavirus face masks prepare for a funeral at Pondok Rangon Public Cemetery in east Jakarta
As the number of residents exposed to more and more victims fell back, the number of burrows left for the bodies of Covid-19 patients at this burial site is only around 1,100 burrows
A funeral officer rests in a special area for coronavirus victims' bodies in Pondok Rangon Public Cemetery, East Jakarta, on Friday
'Hopefully this can create a deterrent against further violations,' he told Tribun News on Wednesday.
The number of Covid-19 cases is continuing to rise in Cerme, prompting the village to strengthen safety measures.
Residents who ignore the new protocols are subject to fines or community service as punishment by law.
Indonesia saw its coronavirus case count rise by 3,636 yesterday, taking its total number of cases to since the pandemic began up to 218,382.
Workers dig holes at a burial site for victims of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Jakarta on September 11
Indonesia's coronavirus death toll stands at 8,723 but true numbers of infected and deceased are estimated to be significantly higher due to a comparative lack of testing in the country
Indonesia saw its coronavirus case count rise by 3,636 yesterday, taking its total number of cases to since the pandemic began up to 218,382
The world has seen a new record of 307,930 coronavirus cases in a day, only the second time that the daily figure has been above 300,000
Jakarta has seen the highest number of cases since the pandemic began at 54,220, while east Java has seen 38,088.
The country's death toll stands at 8,723 but true numbers of infected and deceased are estimated to be significantly higher due to a comparative lack of testing in the country.
Nadi bin Eji, who works in at one of the two cemeteries in Jakarta where coronavirus victims are buried said 2,600 burials have taken place in eight new plots since the beginning of pandemic.
The Pondok Ranggon cemetery told ABC: 'Last week we buried 201 people with COVID protocols.'
He on burials from 7am until almost midnight for the last week and said he feels 'worried' his neighbours think he could spread coronavirus to the wider community.
MrDyl4n on September 14th, 2020 at 19:08 UTC »
Lmao i read the original jakarta times article last night that explains how one local officer decided to assign some people to help a local grave digger. I was expecting to see a headline like this today. 8 people were assigned this punishment, its not a widespread thing that "anyone" is forced to do. This is why reddit is so chock full of misinformation
Danne660 on September 14th, 2020 at 18:30 UTC »
Really disappointing to see that 96% of people are willing to up-vote the dailymail.
Womby314 on September 14th, 2020 at 17:45 UTC »
Not to ruin everyone's justice boner, but I live in East Java and this is just one of the many silly things city governments are doing for show/spectacle instead of actually dealing with the problem in any real sense. Meaning... this isn't actually happening on any semblance of a wide scale. The police are insanely corrupt and just doing this for as long as it takes to record a TV spot for the local news to make it look like they're doing shit. The Indonesian government has essentially embraced the herd immunity idea from day 1, and last I checked, only 30% of people in this region are wearing masks.