TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
COVID-19 protocol violators in Probolinggo made to sit in hearse with casket
Change Size
An illustration of a hearse. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Probolinggo COVID-19 task force in East Java has ordered dozens of people at Maron Market to get into a hearse containing a casket used for transporting COVID-19 patients' bodies, after they were caught not wearing a mask.
Some 50 sellers and customers took turns to stay in the ambulance for several minutes on Monday as a social punishment.
"We punished 50 sellers and customers at Maron Market by making them stay in a hearse," the task force's security and law enforcement coordinator, Ugas Irwanto, told kompas.com on Monday.
Prior to entering the hearse, the task force gave the violators face masks.
Inside the hearse, Ugas added, violators were asked to reflect on their actions. The task force also reminded them how the COVID-19 pandemic had taken a lot of lives.
Read also: Jakarta collects Rp 4 billion in fines from COVID-19 protocol violators
The task force also imposed several other forms of punishment.
"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," Ugas said.
He said the task force would visit 34 other markets in Probolinggo in the next week to ensure residents remained disciplined in following the health protocols.
"Probolinggo regent, deputy regent and local stakeholders also participated in this program," said Ugas.
As per Monday, Probolinggo had recorded 559 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 139 active cases, 393 recoveries, and 27 fatalities. (nal)
