Covidots Forced To Dig Graves For Victims Of COVID-19

According to the Jakarta Post, about eight people who refused to wear face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic were forced to dig graves for those who lost their lives to the Coronavirus in East Java, Indonesia.

As stated by Suyono, a local politician, the idea came when there was a shortage of gravediggers so he thought these anti-maskers might join the existing three gravediggers.

The article on the Jakarta Post noted that these people weren’t forced to handle the dead bodies, only digging graves and adding wooden planks for the caskets.

The tasks of dealing with the bodies belonged to the officials of the district of Cerme who are equipped with full-body protective outfits to minimize the risk of being exposed to the virus.

Indonesia laid down a law requiring everyone to wear masks in April but after the spike in the number of cases in July in East Java and 7 out of 10 citizens of the region weren’t wearing masks, the law was strengthened.

Indonesia and countries like it in the low or middle-income group are struggling to contain the spread of the virus with reason is the lack of resources, which can limit contact tracing and testing. When other measures are expensive, hopes are on masks, a relatively cheap method to slow down COVID-19.

Indonesia has had over 8,841 deaths and 222,000 cases this year and Monday alone has seen 3,141 new cases and 118 new deaths. The U.S, on the other hand, a much wealthier nation, sees a total of 194,000 deaths and 6.5 million new cases, making it an odd case among other developed nations that haven’t seen as much damage and devastation.

While the opposition to wearing masks in public places is often considered an issue unique to the U.S, there are anti-maskers everywhere in the world, like in Germany, France, and Indonesia.

Hong Kong has its fair share of the problem with many anti-mask videos spreading online despite the fact that it is among the earliest to advise citizens to put masks on, with the warning issued as early as mid- January.

On January 21, Dr. Gabriel Leung, WHO Collaborating Center for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control’s founding director, said people should wear masks even if they thought they were healthy.

While masks have been proven to slow the Coronavirus, it isn’t the only factor that determined whether a country can control the infection of the deadly disease. Other measures include lockdown, contact tracing, and testing and they need to be applied strategically.

The US has never issued any large scale or nation-wide order to mandate mask-wearing as President Trump didn’t favor the idea so he left the states to decide if they want to pick up the measure.

The president also held a rally in Henderson, Nevada, which was a clear violation of the rule that forbids more than 50 people to gather in an indoor space. The supporters showing up for the event were seen wearing masks but when the President wasn’t on the stage, many of them took the masks off.

However, even if the participants all worn masks, the event was still illegal and Xtreme Manufacturing, the host of the rally, could be fined $500 for each violation, according to a statement of the city of Henderson.

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