Indonesia Gets ‘Ghosts’ To Haunt Streets, Keeping People At Home Amidst Covid-19
As the global pandemic takes a turn for the worse, countries are urging citizens to stay home, some even going on full lockdowns to ensure they do.
Indonesia, however, is adopting some unconventional methods to keep people off the streets.
Ghost-like figures are now on night duty, scaring residents back to their homes.
Pocong patrollers sit around the village
In a village at Central Java, patrollers are donned in white clothing, taking on a pontaniak-like appearance — minus the long hair.
They are mimicking the image of a pocong, a shroud ghost that exists in Indonesian and Malaysian folklore.
These ghost patrollers ‘haunt’ the village, reminding citizens to stay home and abide by social distancing rules.
The idea is to deter them from gathering amidst the spread of Covid-19 by using fear of these fictional creatures.
For illustration purposes only
Source
Somehow, their pocong strategy worked
According to The Jakarta Post, Anjar Panca, the keeper of a local mosque, explains that the guards are not there to scare villagers.
Rather, they are stationed to “educate residents on the fact that coronavirus causes death”.
As bizarre as this might sound, the pocong strategy is reportedly working.
Initially, the plan did backfire as onlookers were curious about the supposed ‘ghosts’ roaming the streets.
Though so, the method eventually manages to deter people from leaving their homes.
A resident commented that “parents and children have not left their homes” and that fewer people are gathering on the streets after prayers, according to The Straits Times.
Ghost or not, please stay home
While Singapore does not have our own pocong patrollers, we are under a critical ‘Circuit Breaker’ period. The growing number of infections should be enough to keep you home.
Therefore, do be diligent in social distancing and don a face mask in public spaces. But perhaps, just not this one.
Featured image adapted from Free Malaysia Today.
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