JAKARTA: Authorities in hazmat suits paraded empty caskets through the streets of Jakarta Tuesday to remind locals that coronavirus cases are still surging in one of Asia’s worst-hit countries.
A convoy of truck hearses and pallbearers snaked its way through crowded neighbourhoods, with some participants also putting on headpieces portraying ghost-like figures called pocong.
” We’re hoping this casket parade will remind people to be more knowledgeable about the danger of disobeying health safety rules,” stated Mundari, the head of south Jakarta’s Cilandak district, who like many Indonesians passes one name.
” They can envision how things would be if they passed away of Covid-19,” he included.
The mock coffins got the attention of Cilandak resident Ahmad Soleh Suzany.
” It’s extremely scary since this shows the substantial threats we’re facing,” he informed AFP
The relocation comes as Indonesia’s coronavirus toll mounts, with the lethal respiratory illness eliminating more than 100 frontline doctors and possibly numerous kids.
The world’s fourth most populated country has reported over 177,000 verified cases and 7,505 deaths, but with some of the world’s least expensive screening rates the true scale is extensively believed to be much higher.
Medical facility ICU units are straining to keep up in the archipelago of nearly 270 million, where the government has actually been sharply criticised for its reaction, including authorities promoting organic and other unverified cures.
Indonesia unwinded movement limitations in July to head off a collapse of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Authorities are fining people for not wearing masks or failing to practise social distancing, but it’s inadequate.
” So besides sanctions we’re trying to raise awareness,” Cilandak district’s Mundari said. “This helps to communicate the message. It’s our way of attempting to maximise the spread of details.”
This is not the first time Indonesia has relied on non-traditional methods to get the word out about the threats of coronavirus.
Earlier this year, a conservative area in the Muslim-majority nation required social distancing lawbreakers to recite Koranic verses, while another made transgressors use placards confessing their infraction.
Java’s Sragen regency tossed wrongdoers into repurposed abandoned homes that local residents believe are haunted as it tapped prevalent beliefs in the supernatural, which play a key function in Indonesian folklore.
The nation’s medical association applauded the “imaginative” casket parade.
” We appreciate efforts to inform and spread information in various methods so the general public’s crisis awareness remains high,” said association representative Halik Malik.
” This kind of thing leaves an impression.”
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