Three grassroots anti-virus efforts unexpectedly gone viral

Ever since the first case of the COVID-19 were reported in China, a whole host of instructions on how to protect yourself and others have been shared in various ways, from step-by-step advice from doctors to TikTok videos. Over the last couple weeks, some creative measures have been taken to get the message crossed. Here are a few of them that have been trending on Chinese Internet as of late. 

Banners

Slogans can be an effective way to deliver a message, especially when they're as straightforward (aka savage) as those that have been trending lately on social media. Especially in small cities and villages around the country, banners of sorts have popped up with phrases like ‘Mask or ventilator, you choose one' (口罩还是呼吸机，您老看着二选一) or ‘Save a little not wearing a mask; spend a bunch curing the disease' (省小钱不戴口罩，花大钱卧床治病).

Speeches

Photograph: Frank V via Unsplash

On January 26, a video showing a passionate speech by a village Party secretary scolding residents for lack of self protection went viral on Weibo. In the video, the secretary shouted in the local Henan dialect, which was magnified by megaphones. Later in response to the video, the secretary apologised for the vulgarity of his speech and explained it was all out of frustration and love. A clip of the speech was met with overwhelmingly positive responses online, and the hashtag 'Henan Party secretary's furious speech' (#河南村支书回应暴躁喊话#) has received over 300 million views on Weibo. 

Talking drones

Officers in a remote village in Hohhot found it difficult to deter its residents from venturing outside without face masks – until they decided to fly a drone with a speaker. One recent video went viral showing an elderly woman going out of her house without a mask on. Startled by the flying machine, she finally went back inside. 

You might have missed

More from Time Out Beijing