Different measures are being taken by different communities to ensure that residents comply with the stay at home order by the government in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Since the announcement of lockdown by different governments, there have been reports of unconventional tactics to get people to stay at home.
We reported the case of Indian police using a coronavirus-shaped helmet while a Ukrainian mayor dug over 600 graves to scare people to stay at home.
In Kepuh, a village in Central Java, Indonesia, local youths are volunteering as ghosts to scare people to stay at home.
People brave enough to venture outside their homes at night risk coming face to face with ‘pocong’ or shrouded ghosts, legendary figures believed to represent the souls of dead people trapped in their funeral shrouds.
Youths in the village usually dress up as the shrouded ghosts and wear scary makeup as their part of supporting their village leaders to ensure compliance.
In fact, it was the community youths who proposed the idea to the village chief, and he was smart enough to accept.
“We wanted to be different and create a deterrent effect because ‘pocong’ are spooky and scary,” said Anjar Pancaningtyas, head of a village youth group, adding that locals required extra convincing to remain indoors. But the good news is the unconventional technique seems to be working.
“Since the pocong appeared, parents and children have not left their homes,” said resident Karno Supadmo, “And people will not gather or stay on the streets after evening prayers.”
“During the past three days, no residents were seen going out at night. Apparently, they’re scared of the fake ghost,” Anjar Panca, the keeper of Kesongo’s Al Himmah mosque, told The Jakarta Post.
The pocong monitor guests coming into the village and make sure that residents stay indoors as much as possible, to prevent them from spreading the potentially deadly coronavirus.
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