JAKARTA: Reports of people forcibly carrying off bodies of suspected Covid-19 patients who died at hospitals are causing great concern.
Strict protocols are in place when it comes to burying suspected victims of Covid-19 but there are those who had resorted to snatching the bodies for burial according to their wishes.
Yogyakarta State University sociologist Amika Wardhana said such incidents happened for two possible reasons, according to The Jakarta Post.
These were deeply rooted in religious and cultural beliefs surrounding death as well as the nonchalant attitude of many Indonesian citizens to the pandemic, Amika said.
"In the Indonesian tradition, among all religions and cultures, death is an important stage in life. The Covid-19 burial protocols are simple and fast, which some may see as culturally disrespectful and unacceptable."
Moreover, the government's poor handling of such critical situations had led to a lack of understanding among the public about the pandemic and even disbelief that the country was facing a serious and rapidly spreading disease, Amika said.
On Tuesday, Indonesia recorded 1,043 Covid-19 cases, its highest daily number. This brings the total number of infections nationwide to 33,076, with 1,923 fatalities.
According to Kompas.com, on June 3, hundreds barged their way into Dadi Hospital in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to take away the body of a patient under surveillance (PDP), who died two days after being admitted.
Hospital director Arman Bausat confirmed the incident and said that the hospital could not do much to prevent the removal as some of those at the scene were armed with sharp weapons.
Closed circuit television footage showed seven people entering the intensive care unit and immediately taking the body away.
"If we had prevented them, there may have been undesirable consequences. So I instructed (the medical staff) to let them go just to avoid bloodshed," Arman said.
Before the body was taken away, Dadi Hospital and the task force were planning to bury it at the Maccanda Cemetery in Gowa regency under Covid-19 protocols.
Similarly on Sunday evening, 150 people flocked to Stella Maris Hospital, also in Makassar, to forcibly remove the body of a PDP, a woman in her 50s who had died hours after showing severe symptoms.
A joint force of the Indonesian military and the national police was deployed, leading to a clash between the crowd and the security forces. The mob successfully broke through the security line and carried away the body of the victim on a stretcher covered with a sarong.
Ujung Pandang police chief Commander Wahyu Basuki said the security personnel were overwhelmed.
"We tried to prevent and disperse them, but we were outnumbered and they finally took the body away," Wahyu said.
There were also cases in Semampir district on June 4 and another at Dr Soetomo Hospital on Sunday, both in Surabaya, East Java.
The Semampir case saw family members of two dead PDP patients forcibly taking their bodies from a district hospital while the case at Dr Soetomo Hospital saw hundreds of 'ojek' riders (motorcycle taxis) entering the compound as family members collected their dead relative to be buried.