Grocery shoppers covered head to toe spark fury in Jakarta

Of all sorts of wacky gear people have donned to protect themselves from the coronavirus, this one had other people scrambling away in fear.

In two videos uploaded onto Twitter on Sunday (March 29), two pairs of grocery shoppers were filmed in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) ensemble — hazmat suits, goggles, N-95 masks, no less.

It took place at a supermarket in South Jakarta's Gandaria City mall.

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Both videos have gone viral, one of which garnering over 45,000 likes on Twitter at the time of writing.

They even caught the attention of a minister, reported an Indonesian media outlet. Minister for State Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir condemned their behaviour.

"The media should criticise this kind of behaviour. It hurts, when our brothers and sisters are on duty in the hospitals amid the PPE shortage, there are people like this."

He added that healthcare workers still lacked enough protective gear.

ALSO READ: Malaysia minister lambasted for donning hazmat suit during sanitation exercise

In one of the videos, the store manager can be heard reprimanding a pair, stating that by being dressed as such, they were causing other shoppers unnecessary worry.

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In the second video, a woman from the other pair argued back: "I want to shop here, don't kick us out. I also brought my money here."

Photos of other people clad in PPE whilst shopping in other parts of Indonesia have also surfaced of late.

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South Jakarta police chief Budi Sartono urged the public against buying and wearing PPE during the current Covid-19 pandemic as they were urgently required by healthcare workers.

"The public can go out wearing masks and others, but they don't need to be over-the-top with the PPE. The PPE should be worn by those who need it in the hospital or other places," he told Indonesian news website Detikcom.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

rainercheung@asiaone.com