WATCH | Tourists in Bali forced to do push-ups for not wearing masks

While not wearing a mask in SA could land you with a fine and/or jail time, tourists caught not wearing face masks in Bali, Indonesia, are being subjected to doing push-ups as punishment.

Viral videos circulating on social media this week shows tourists doing push-ups in the heat while masked security officials stand over them.

Watch the videos below:

According to Times of India, tourists caught not wearing a face mask in public are forced to do up to 50 push-ups in the street as punishment, with authorities hoping the unusual tactic will help boost “respect” for health protocols.

The report states that 90% of Covid-19 violations at the island resort were by tourists and local police were tired of listening to excuses.

Euronews reported that Indonesia fines around 100,000 Indonesian rupiah (abut R108) per person for not wearing a mask.

Bali authorities made wearing a mask in public mandatory last year as Indonesia battled a raging Covid-19 outbreak.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Indonesia has 999,256 confirmed cases and 28,132 deaths.  

Other Covid-19 punishments

Last year, law enforcement officials in East Java, Indonesia, introduced grave digging as one of the punishments applied to those who break Covid-19 health protocols.

According to a CNN report, local authorities were forcing offenders to dig graves for victims of Covid-19 in the hopes the labour would convince them to do their part to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Other penalties for people not following rules, such as wearing a mask, include lying down in coffins and praying for Covid-19 victims at cemeteries.

At the height of the early lockdown in SA, the police and the military were slammed for abusing their power after viral footage showed soldiers forcing people not obeying the lockdown regulations to do squats, push-ups and roll on the floor.

DA leader John Steenhuisen was among those who were outraged by the soldiers’ behaviour.

“Those who find the forced squats and push-ups being meted out by the military amusing, just think if this was a member of your family. This isn’t how a professional military conducts itself.

“History has shown us it starts with push-ups but always ends in a more sinister way,” he said at the time.