Medellin police fight virus spread with hearse

A local police department in Colombia took to parading a coffin through the streets of Medellin to bring home the seriousness of the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and to call on people to follow preventative measures.

Colombia is currently under a state of emergency with a mandatory quarantine and has called in its army and police into the streets to reduce the traffic as a measure to contain the spread of the virus.

The measures are enforced with fines and jail time, but people are allowed to be in the streets to cover basic needs such as healthcare, buying food, go to a bank or taking care of children and the elderly.

Streets show reduced traffic, but people are still seen in queues for these services, a situation that prompted the Medellin Department to find an alternate way to convince people to take preemptive measures.

The Police Department said they installed checkpoints in all the region to enforce the isolation decree that will last until April 13.

On Tuesday the Colombian authorities had confirmed 890 cases with 16 deaths in the last two weeks since it announced the first decease.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.