Tourists in Bali Are Being Forced to Do Push-ups for Violating Mask Rules

Police in Bali are punishing people who refuse to properly wear face masks in public with push-ups.

People caught maskless and unable to pay the associated fines face 50 push-ups, Euronews reports. Those wearing masks incorrectly face 15 push-ups.

Bali began enforcing fines for mask violations back in August. Locals tend to comply with requirements for wearing face coverings in public, but foreigners can be a different story. Euronews reports that 90% of COVID-19 violations in Bali stem from tourists, whose entry has officially been banned since April, with the exception of local residents and those coming from another part of Indonesia.

Margarita Chlapak, a Russian tourist, told AFP she wears a mask when visiting stores, but wasn't donning one when reporters interviewed her on the street.

Police explained to Euronews that tourists tend not to respect local mask laws. "First they say they are not aware of this regulation," law enforcement officer Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara told the outlet. "Then they say they forgot it, their mask was wet or damaged." The fine for not wearing a mask in public in Indonesia is around $7.

So far, Indonesia has seen nearly 940,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 26,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Bali had been planning to welcome tourists last year in September, but has since delayed its reopening. Coronavirus cases have been rising for months in Indonesia. On Jan. 20, the country reported more than 12,000 new COVID-19 cases.