President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that before a vaccination becomes available, governors across the nation must remain focussed on handling COVID-19 by implementing disciplined health protocols.
The president stressed the importance of everyone wearing masks.
“Especially with regard to wearing masks, this must be conveyed over and over again. Wearing a mask is the key before vaccination occurs,” said Jokowi.
About 20 residents in Madiun City, East Java, were sanctioned to walk 1km while spraying disinfectant and singing the national anthem because they were caught without wearing masks. Meanwhile, dozens of residents were arrested when the Madiun city government held a mask raid on Jalan Pahlawan on Monday night.
The sanctions were given in accordance with Madiun mayoral regulation number 39, 2020 concerning the implementation of health protocol law enforcement in the effort to prevent and control COVID-19.
In addition to taking action against people who weren’t wearing masks, the night operation also found a number of residents from outside the region who did not have rapid test results. The people in question had already been in Madiun for some time.
“Earlier, there were also nine residents from outside of Madiun who carried out activities here because they couldn’t show rapid test results,” said the Mayor of Madiun, Maidi.
In Cikupa District, Tangerang Regency, Banten, pocong dolls and corpses have been paraded around the Cikupa Traditional Market. The Cikupa sub-district head, Abdulah, said that socialisation of wearing masks had been done regularly during the pandemic. The goal is to create a shock for residents who are still ignorant of mask usage.
“Many residents have neglected the use of masks, especially in crowded places such as traditional markets and other public places,” Abdulah said in a written statement.
Until now, Abdulah said, many Cikupa residents have not been wearing masks in public places even though sanctions have been applied for those who do not comply. For residents who are caught not wearing masks, they will be given sanctions such as push-ups and up to a fine of Rp100,000.
Furthermore, a total of 26 residents were ordered to sweep the graves of Waru Village in Sidoarjo, East Java on Monday afternoon. They were caught in a mask raid held by a joint Indonesian armed forces and national police (TNI-POLRI) operation and the municipal police team in Waru Village.
The raids and actions were aimed at improving the discipline of Sidoarjo residents who were still ignoring health protocols. For residents who are not disciplined, they will be given sanctions to clean graves whilst wearing a vest bearing an inscription explaining they were violating health protocol rules.
“With these sanctions, it is hoped that residents will be more disciplined in wearing masks. The application of this sanction is in accordance with the presidential decree number 6 of 2020. This time, there were 26 residents who violated it,” explained Sidarjo Traffic Police AKBP Toni.
Source: Kompas, Klik Jatim and Okezone