Shrouded Ghosts and Coffins: Morbid Tools to Get Indonesians to Mask Up

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com – Town officials on the outskirts of Jakarta have resorted to morbid marketing to get residents to comply with Covid-19 health protocols requiring the wearing of face masks in public. They have a group of people act as pallbearers dressed in burial shrouds while parading in Cikupa Sub-district in Tangerang, Banten province.

Head of the Cikupa Sub-district Abdullah said people have already been reminded all the time to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. But community compliance with the health protocols has been poor.

Abdullah’s office then used shrouded ghosts as pallbearers to promote the wearing of masks in public.

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“Many residents have ignored the use of masks, especially in crowded places such as in the traditional markets and other public places,” Abdullah said in a statement received by Kompas.com on August 31.

He added that many residents of Cikupa don’t wear masks when carrying out their daily activities in public even with sanctions imposed.

Residents who are caught for not wearing masks are made to perform pushups or pay a fine of 100,000 rupiahs ($6.90).

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He said currently, Cikupa is in the fourth place throughout Tangerang regency in terms of confirmed cases having recently recorded 11 patients. The top three most-affected sub-districts in Tangerang regency are Curug, Pasar Kemis, and Kelapa Dua.

Tangerang regency recorded a total of 703 confirmed cases, while 557 patients have recovered, 123 were still receiving treatments, and 21 have died of the Covid-19.

(Writer: Acep Nazmudin | Editor: Aprillia Ika)

Source: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2020/08/31/23171141/pocong-dan-keranda-mayat-diarak-keliling-pasar-ingatkan-warga-pakai-masker.