Indonesia: Authorities order people not wearing face masks to dig graves

Local authorities in East Java have come up with a unique punishment for people found violating norms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to a report by The Jakarta Post, local authorities ordered eight people in Gresik regency, East Java, to dig graves at a public cemetery in Ngabetan village for those who have died of COVID-19 as punishment for not wearing face masks in public.

"There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them," Suyono, Cerme district head, was quoted as saying.

He further said that two people were assigned each grave wherein one was given the task of digging and the other has to lay wooden boards inside the hole to support the corpse.

"Hopefully this can create a deterrent effect against violations," Suyono added.

According to the latest update by the Johns Hopkins University, as many as 221,523 people in Indonesia have tested positive for coronavirus and 8,841 people have succumbed to the disease.