Each day in Jakarta at 9 am sharp, local government official Ricky Mulyana and three colleagues don full personal protective equipment, hoist a wooden coffin onto their shoulders, and set out on a 'funeral' procession down busy city streets.

 

在雅加达，每天上午九点整，当地政府官员瑞奇·木雅那和三名同事都会穿上全套的个人防护装备，扛起一副木棺材，沿着繁忙的城市街道出发开启“送葬”之旅。

 

The coffin, wrapped in plastic, contains only an effigy. But as Indonesia struggles to contain a surge in coronavirus cases, authorities are trying shock tactics to catch the public's attention and drive home crucial health messages in a country that has the highest virus death toll in Southeast Asia.

 

A video circulating online shows that two men without masks are laying down inside a dummy coffin for few minutes.

 

The public order enforcers asked them to obey the health protocols in order to avoid the risk of infection and transmission of coronavirus.

 

According to a gubernatorial regulation, failure to wear a mask in public in Jakarta is punishable by fines up to $16.90 or 60 minutes of community service.

 

"It's a tiring job because people don't understand the danger of the COVID-19 disease," said Mulyana during a coffin procession along a street in Jakarta's southern Cilandak area, a sprawling suburb with business centres and both middle class and poorer districts.

 

Nearby, other officials held up placards and used loudhailers to urge residents to follow health protocols, including wearing masks and social distancing.