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Indonesia's coronavirus drone spray criticised by health experts

Video Credit: Reuters Studio - Duration: 02:12s - Published
Indonesia's coronavirus drone spray criticised by health experts

Indonesia's coronavirus drone spray criticised by health experts

Authorities in Indonesia are using drones and fire engines to spray disinfectant in the street in a bid to tackle coronavirus, against the advice of health experts.

Joe Davies reports.

In Indonesia, they're taking to the air in the fight against the coronavirus.

Above the streets of Surabaya, drones spray disinfectant in an attempt to kill the disease - one response among many catching on around the world, despite warnings from health experts.

These drones contain a substance usually found in household cleaning products.

"Using a drone is much more effective" this local man says.

"It can disinfect everywhere, include the rooftop.

If it is done manually (by workers) all they can reach is the top of fence, not the roof." Mass disinfections have become a common sight across the world to contain the fast-spreading virus.

It has already killed more than 100 people in Indonesia.

"We use benzalkonium chloride, it works like soap", says the spokesman of the Surabaya mayor.

"It will help to 'weaken' the virus, so it won't enter our body, it works like soap because that virus is not so strong.

In god's will, what we, the city's government, is doing now can maximise our efforts to protect the people of Surabaya." In Jakarta, they're using fire engines to spray the streets with disinfectant.

But some have raised concerns about these mass disinfectant methods.

The visually-impressive measures have been criticized by disease specialists as a health hazard as well as a waste of time and resources.

This public health expert says disinfection 'chambers' or directly spraying human bodies is not recommended, as it's not good for skin or the eyes, and will cause irritation.

Others say hand-washing and targeted cleaning of commonly-touched surfaces like elevator buttons offer better protection than mass disinfecting.

The coronavirus is now rapidly spreading around the globe, impacting some countries more than others.

But each will have their own way of dealing with it.




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