Indonesian Village Uses 'Ghosts' to Scare You Into Social Distancing

Indonesian Village Uses 'Ghosts' to Scare You Into Social Distancing

JAVA, INDONESIA — As the British government racks its brain on how to keep facetious citizens indoors, a village in Indonesia has taken a different tactic: ghosts.

As reported by the BBC, the Indonesian village has reportedly taken to using volunteers dressed as ghosts to literally spook people into social distancing over the coronavirus.

The village on Java Island started deploying the bed-sheet patrols at night last month.

In Indonesian folklore, ghostly figures known as "pocong" are said to represent the trapped souls of the dead.

According to Reuters news agency staff who traveled to see the volunteers in action, they felt the 'pocong' actually had the opposite effect as people were coming out to try and spot them.

Despite this, locals say that matters of social distancing have since improved with the new haunting.

One resident told Reuters, "Since the pocong appeared, parents and children have not left their homes.

And people will not gather or stay on the streets after evening prayers." Although slightly bizarre, this is not the only unusual measure that has been used to try to raise awareness of the disease's dangers around the world.

In India for example, police have taken to patrolling streets in virus-shaped helmets in a bid to bring attention to the dangers of the outbreak.

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