Push-Ups, Fines, Public Whippings: How The World Is Policing Coronavirus Isolation Measures

WARNING: Distressing content.

COVID-19 has impacted almost all regions of all parts of the globe, with police tasked with ensuring people comply with strict new health measures. Here's how different countries are punishing those who flout the laws.

India

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has apologised to the country's poor for enforcing a 21-day lockdown, leaving millions who live hand-to-mouth reeling from the impacts of unemployment.

Despite the apology, police in India have been heavy-handed with those flouting strict coronavirus restrictions.

Videos show officers ordering people to do push-ups, sit-ups and squats while chanting "we are an enemy of the people".

Even more distressing footage captured police hitting people with batons and deploying teargas on those caught on the streets.

Migrants have also suffered at the hands of authorities, with videos showing health workers hosing a group of people with disinfectant in Bareilly.

On Sunday, India's death toll stood at 75, with the country's cases totalling 3,072.

Australia

Australians have been ordered to stay at home except if they need to exercise, purchase goods and services, or for other essential purposes.

Gatherings have also been limited to two people, with Australians urged to keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other.

In recent weeks, Australian police have moved to shut down popular beaches, such as Sydney's Bondi Beach and Melbourne's St Kilda Beach. They've also targeted parks and outdoor areas to ensure people are complying with the bans on gatherings of more than two people.

NSW residents face the harshest penalties in the country for flouting the laws, with maximum fines of up to $11,000.

However, NSW Police said on Thursday they've only issued thirteen infringement notices of $1,000 to people failing to social distance. They've also handed down one fine to someone who violated mandatory self-isolation.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that 142 fines had been issued in just 24 hours for those not following physical distancing laws.

The Philippines

Some officers in The Philippines have been brutal in their policing, subjecting those breaking coronavirus laws to humiliating and unsafe punishment.

Police have locked people in cramped dog cages and forced them to sit in the direct sunlight during midday during the country's lockdown, according to VICE.

A local official in Santa Cruz, south of Manila, posted a photo to social media of five people, two of whom were minors, stuffed into a dog cage for flouting the country's curfew.

It comes as President Rodrigo Duterte ordered police and the military to shoot 'troublemakers' "dead" this week.

On Sunday, the country had 3,094 cases of COVID-19, as well as 144 deaths.

The United Kingdom

Some people have also accused police in the United Kingdom of going "too far" with penalising those who violate COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

As of Sunday, the UK had 41,903 coronavirus cases and a death toll of 4,313.

Last week, the UK approved emergency legislation that allowed police to issue instant $61 fines (£30) fines to those in groups of more than two or who leave their homes without good reason.

Similar to Australia's measures, those in the UK can only leave the home to work, buy groceries or to exercise.

The UK has also had its fair share of peculiar stories, including one from rural Britain. According to Reuters, police amused Buxton residents after they dyed a lagoon black to dissuade people from lounging about.

South Africa 

Police in South Africa are employing violent tactics to enforce lockdown laws, including using rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse people, as well as whipping those who breach restrictions.

A video obtained by the Mail and Guardian and AmaBhungane shows a plainclothes officer whipping people in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.

South Africa has been struggling to police the lockdown, with slums packed with people, as the country reports 1,585 cases of coronavirus and five deaths.

Stories of violence have sent shock waves through the country,  as local news outlets reported a man was shot dead in Vosloorus by police last week on his balcony.

According to News 24, police had followed him home from a bar where he'd been drinking before opening fire.

Spain

Spain has suffered gravely from COVID-19, with up to 126,168 cases of the virus and 11,947 deaths.

Still, spirits remain high in some parts of the country, with footage showing police in Mallorca serenading residents stuck at home during the nation-wide lockdown.

The video showed local officers playing the guitar and singing to families boarded up in apartments.

However, shocking footage has also emerged of an officer hitting a man with a baton in Spain's Basque region, as more than 1,000 people have been arrested for flouting coronavirus laws.

According to Al Jazeera, more than 100,000 people have been fined across the country, with penalties ranging from $179.8 (100 euros) to $1,079 (600,000 euros).

Kenya

Kenya has also seen a wave of violence as police crack down on those breaking coronavirus curfews.

Tragedy struck when a 13-year-old was killed on the balcony of his friend's home. Police claimed the boy was struck by a "stray bullet", but witnesses told AP an officer had shot him.

The bloody and brutal tactics utilised by police also saw a motorcyclist beaten to death in Mombasa.

According to a post-mortem report obtained by AP, the man had breached the curfew by taking a pregnant woman to a hospital.

The country has reported just 126 cases and four deaths to the disease.

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