Alongside police and troops overseeing enforcement measures, provincial leaders are running their own zealous campaigns to fight the virus in Indonesia. (Photo by=AFP/Bay Ismoyo) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] Indonesian officials are forcing social distancing violators to recite Koran verses, stay in "haunted" houses and submit to public shaming on social media as the country battles to contain surging coronavirus infections.
The Southeast Asian archipelago began deploying around 340,000 troops across two dozen cities to oversee enforcement of measures for halting transmission of the disease, such as wearing face masks in public.
Jakarta announced new rules this month that could see residents who break social distancing rules forced to clean public facilities - including toilets - while wearing vests that label them as rule-breakers.
To the east in Sragen regency, offenders have been jailed in repurposed abandoned houses that local residents believe are haunted - tapping widespread beliefs in the supernatural, which play a key role in Indonesian folklore.
Indonesia has confirmed around 24,000 cases of COVID-19 and 1,496 deaths, but the country of more than 260 million has some of the lowest testing rates in the world. Researchers estimate the true number of virus fatalities is several times the official toll.