Apr 16, 2020 06:00:00

'Ghost' is used to stop unnecessary and urgent outings with new coronavirus measures

As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19), each country is required to refrain from going out unnecessarily and urgently. Meanwhile, it has been reported that 'ghosts' are being used to keep people at home in

Java , Indonesia.

'Ghosts' scare Indonesians indoors and away from coronavirus-Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-indonesia-ghost-ro/ghosts-scare-indonesians-indoors-and-away-from-coronavirus-idUSKCN21V0E4

Indonesia's 'Pocong' ghost volunteers scare people into staying home in Java-CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/13/asia/indonesia-ghost-volunteers-pocong-intl/index.html

Since early April 2020, volunteers have been conducting 'surprise patrols' at night in Kepu Village, Sukoharjo District, Central Java Province , to check if there are any people who are going out unnecessarily. At that time, the volunteer seems to wear a white cloth all over.

You can see the state of the volunteers who actually patrol the village in the following movie.

Coronavirus outbreak: Indonesian village uses 'ghosts' to scare people into staying home-YouTube


Villagers were surprised by the eerie appearance of the volunteers standing in the middle of the road.

This figure imitates what is known as ' Pocong ' in Indonesia. Pokon is a soul of a dead person who cannot be made into a Buddhism, that is, a ghost. Anjar Pancaningtyas, chairman of the Kep Village Volunteer Group, said he wanted to use the eerie and horrible appearance of Pokon to have a different impact on the residents than he had been calling.

Priyadi, the chief of the village of Kep, says local residents are less aware of the COVID-19 epidemic and want to continue living as they have been.

Therefore, he decided to use the scary ghost Pokon to convey the message to people to stay at home.

The volunteer young man has his whole body wrapped in cloth ...

The face is also dusted with white powder.

In addition to wearing a cloth, you will be tied up with a string, so you have to bounce small when walking.

In this state, he walks through the village and warns people who go out unnecessarily and urgently.

Pancaningtyas says that at the beginning of patrol using pocon, there were spectators and it was counterproductive, but recently the number of people going out at night has decreased. Resident Karno Supadmo also commented that children and parents were unable to go out after pokon appeared.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo declared a public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus infection on March 31, ordering the Ministry of Health to work with regional leaders to develop a strategy to maintain social distance. . On the other hand, there is no complete blockade of the city.

At the time of writing, the number of COVID-19 infected people in Indonesia was close to 5,000, and the death toll exceeded 400. Researchers at the University of Indonesia estimate that 1.5 million people may be infected with COVID-19 and 140,000 people may die by May if the behavioral restrictions of people are not tightened. .