(UTV | COVID-19) – A village in Indonesia has reportedly taken to using volunteers dressed as ghosts to try to scare people into social distancing over the coronavirus.
Kepuh village, on Java Island, started deploying the patrols at night last month.
In Indonesian folklore, ghostly figures known as “pocong” are said to represent the trapped souls of the dead.
Indonesia so far has about 4,500 cases and 400 confirmed virus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
But there are fears, according to experts, that the true scale of the infection across the country is much worse.
According to Reuters news agency staff who travelled to see the pocong in action, the unusual tactic initially had the opposite effect to that intended – with people coming out to try to spot the volunteers.