Indonesia is using ‘ghosts’ to scare people in order to stay home during the coronavirus lockdown
In an attempt to make people respect the quarantine lockdown, a village in Indonesia is using volunteers dressed as ghosts.
The place is located in Kepuh village, on Java Island and as of last month, it started deploying the patrols at night. The reason why the locals took this decision is because ghostly figures known as "pocong" are said to represent the trapped souls of the dead in Indonesia, BBC reports.
So far, Indonesia has reported 4,557 new cases with the deadly virus infection and 399 people have died.
But many people believe that the total number of people infected are much higher, as the authorities are trying to hide the real number in order not to create panic within the local population.
However, on the other hand, the unusual tactic had the opposite effect - people coming out to try to spot the volunteers.
A few weeks going forward, locals say that things have improved:
"Since the pocong appeared, parents and children have not left their homes," resident Karno Supadmo told Reuters. "And people will not gather or stay on the streets after evening prayers."
Anjar Panca, keeper at a local mosque, told the Jakarta Post the initiative worked because it reminded residents of the potential deadly effects of the disease.
The initiative was organised by the head of the village's youth group in co-ordination with local police.
To watch the full video, click here.
Ben McLean, a student at Darmouth University, said his family was surprised when Winston became the world's first dog found with COVID-19. Ben's parents were tested and detected with the new coronavirus in March. His father, a doctor at a hospital in North Carolina, became ill first, and soon his wife became infected. Ben McLean showed symptoms but was not tested.
After recovering, the three decided to participate in a study conducted by Duke University. Patients were asked to donate plasma and be tested for antibodies. Subsequently, they were asked for permission to have their pets tested.Winston was tested on April 1 and the result was positive.
All members of the McLean family, including Winston, have been declared healed and now practice social distance as a precaution. "Winston recovered. Today I went for a walk and ran through the park," said Ben McLean.
Disposable masks have invaded the beaches of Hong Kong where, for several months, residents have been covering their faces to protect themselves from the new coronavirus.
According to environmental associations, these masks add to the already worrying amounts of plastic waste floating in Hong Kong's waters, writes Agerpres.
"The disposable mask is just another weight we leave to future generations," said Gary Stokes, co-founder of OceansAsia.
Shortly before the pandemic broke out, the Hong Kong environmental organization launched a one-year study on waste and microplastics found on one of the country's most remote and uninhabited islands.
The five most commonly found items were bottles, polystyrene packaging, lighters, disposable cutlery and plastic straw.
Currently, disposable masks float on the surface of the sea, along the beaches and the coast.
Recently, environmentalists identified and collected 70 masks within a radius of 100 meters. A week later, another 30 masks were found.
"Since people started wearing masks, the consequences of this phenomenon are now visible on the beaches," Stokes said.
Hong Kong's nearly 7.5 million people produce six million tons of waste each year, of which only about 30% is recycled.
Passengers of an airplane, test negative for COVID-19 before take-off and positive on landing
Comic-tragic situation for the passengers of an air flight. 12 of the 91 passengers on a Qatar plane flying to Athens were tested negative for the new coronavirus. On landing, however, they were tested again, the result being a positive one.
As a result, Greece has suspended all flights to and from Qatar after some passengers on a Doha to Athens flight tested positive for COVID-19. Greek authorities say 12 of the passengers contracted the virus, the rest being healthy. "Because of this, flights to and from Qatar are suspended until June 15," they said.
However, the airline claims that all the passengers of the flight were healthy before boarding, in Doha.
Among those tested positive are nine Pakistani citizens living in Greece, two Greeks living in Australia and a member of a Greco-Japanese family. These people will be quarantined in a hotel for two weeks.
After a gradual exit from isolation on May 4, the tourist season officially begins on June 15 in Greece, with the reopening of seasonal hotels and the resumption of numerous international flights from the regions least affected by the pandemic.
Greece on Friday announced the opening of airports in Athens and Thessaloniki for tourists from 29 countries, including 15 in the European Union, starting June 15.
Between June 15 and 30, the planes will only be able to land in the two cities. The other regional airports and those on the Greek islands will not reopen until July 1.
Russia will begin testing a covid vaccine on paid volunteers next week, writes The Moscow Times.
Vadim Tarasov, the director of the institute that will conduct the study, explained that 50 volunteers were selected, and those who will participate in the study until the end will be paid 100,000 rubles ($ 1,450). Those who participate only partially will be rewarded with 20,000 rubles ($ 288). The vaccine was developed by a state-owned research institute.
The study, which will begin on June 7, is open to "healthy women and men, aged 18-60," according to documents distributed earlier this week on social media by students at a medical university in Moscow. Tarasov confirmed the authenticity of the test guide and the online registration form.
In the first phase of the study, participants will be isolated at a medical unit in Zvenigorod, a city 50 km from Moscow, on June 9-22. The vaccine will be administered to participants only in the second phase, which will take place between June 23 and July 20, and the volunteers will be transferred to a research center in Moscow.
Russia ranks third in the world in the number of coronavirus cases, with more than 440,000 patients. On Thursday, 8,831 new cases and 169 deaths were confirmed.
Ford claims to have invented an ingenious automated disinfection system for the passenger compartment, which will soon be available for US police cars. The system does not require any technical changes, but will be available after a wireless software update is released for the multimedia system.
The technology is extremely current in times of pandemic and not only for law enforcement but also, for example, for cars in the fleets of car rental companies. According to the Americans, the system is able to automatically remove up to 99% of bacteria and viruses from within in minutes. The function can be activated by accessing some special commands on board, after which the driver and all passengers will have to leave the passenger compartment.
Afterwards, the car will emit some audible warnings inside, to remind those on board to leave the car, and soon the passenger compartment will be heated, including all surfaces, to a temperature of 56 degrees Celsius. This procedure, according to US company officials, removes most of the bacteria and viruses on board. Finally, until access to the board is allowed, the system will start the air conditioning system to cool the passenger compartment.
The system will be available through a software update offered wirelessly to Ford police cars in the US, produced from 2013 until now. For the newest the system will be offered as standard. The Americans say the function is extremely useful for inspectors, since a car can be used by several employees, and criminals who can theoretically be infected are also transported inside.