90 percent of mask rule violators in Badung regency are foreigners: official

It appears that nothing much has changed when it comes to foreigners choosing not to wear masks when out and about in Badung regency, as authorities say they still make up the majority of mask rule violators in the region. 

“Foreign nationals who violate [the mandatory mask rule] still dominate. Just based on violations that we gave sanctions to, 90 percent were foreigners, the remaining 10 percent were Indonesians,” I Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara, who heads the Public Order agency (Satpol PP) in Badung, said. 

In the three phases of the Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM) so far, the first of which was imposed on Jan. 11, Suryanegara said a total of 359 people have been subject to sanctions for violating the mask rule, 323 of whom were foreign nationals.

In January, Suryanegara said 80 percent of 150 mask rule violators caught in Badung were foreigners.

“It seems like they don’t believe there’s a pandemic,” Suryanegara said, adding that they’ve been relaying data of these foreigners to immigration, and sent out notices to their respective embassies or consulates. 

“However, it just seems like they basically don’t believe in health protocols, and every day we still find foreign nationals disobeying them.”

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