As the threat of the coronavirus in the country becomes more acute, the law enforcement officials across the country are coming up with ingenious campaigns to create awareness amongst the public about the perils of breaching the lockdown restrictions. With the fight against the coronavirus being tough and long, the police officials are leaving no stone unturned in discouraging the people from flouting the government-mandated constraints, often by using innovative and inventive ways.
Recently, the Bengaluru police’s avant-garde method to dissuade people from venturing out amidst lockdown is winning hearts on the Internet.
.@BlrCityPolice is in a zone by itself! 😂 #coronavirusindia COVID19 pic.twitter.com/MADklZOnG7
— Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) March 30, 2020
A bevy of policemen from the Ulsoor Traffic station presented a small street play to warn the people what would happen if they disregard the restrictions and step out of their homes. Cops wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets accosted the miscreant biker who was blissfully meandering the roads during the lockdown. Once the biker was caught, the coronavirus-shaped helmet was transferred to him, conveying that the virus could infect anyone who on and about the road. The play accurately captured the hazards of roaming around on the streets and attracted rave reactions from many on Social Media.
Before Bengaluru Police’s enthralling skit, police officials in the southern metropolis of Chennai were seen donning the spooky coronavirus-shaped helmets to exhort people to stay at home. A police officer named Rajesh Babu collaborated with a local artist Gowtham and designed a “Coronavirus Helmet” to raise awareness about the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He wanted to persuade people to comply with the nationwide lockdown by understanding the seriousness of the issue.
Inspector Rajesh Babu says, “We had been talking to public. But awareness among them is very less. So we thought of doing something different. We designed a helmet that looks like coronavirus. We thought of doing something which will scare the people and make them stay at home.” https://t.co/dG3NCWpUPz pic.twitter.com/wwbkhRrinT
— ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2020
According to the Police personnel, the Coronavirus helmet has been useful in raising awareness. The distinct approach taken by the cops has appealed to the minds of the commuters. Children after seeing the gear chose to stay at home as well.
Andhra Pradesh cops today created awareness amongst people today by hiring local artists and dressing them up as Yamraj, Chitragupta and coronavirus.
Andhra Pradesh police take help of 'Yamraj and Chitragupta' to urge people to stay indoors amid #Coronavirus lockdown pic.twitter.com/CRNlyGPysS
— Express Trending (@ietrending) April 1, 2020
They went about the town making announcements to make people stay inside the house amidst the lockdown.
In addition, the cops in Kerala, the state with one of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases, did a “handwashing” dance to illustrate people how frequent handwashing can help them in warding off the threat of coronavirus. The video showing a group of cops wearing masks and performing a handwashing dance to the Malayalam song Kalakkatha from Prithviraj’s film Ayyapanum Koshiyum quickly gained traction on social media with a record number of views.
The total number of coronavirus cases as of April 1 has skyrocketed to 1637, with the last 2-3 days witnessing a huge spike owing to a large congregation occurred at Markas Nizamuddin which was attended by at least 1700-1800 people and has emerged as a breeding ground for the virus’ unrestrained proliferation. With the cases rising steadily, it will, perhaps, need a lot more than police ingenuity to curb the spread of the virus.