A man is sleeping in an unidentified street in Kozhikode, Kerala. He is homeless and is resting on the steps of a store that's closed as part of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Three policemen can be seen walking down the street wearing masks and gloves and they stop on seeing the man. The police ask him questions, which he answers. They walk away but return with a food packet and a bottle of water for the man. But then, he jumps up and vigorously shakes his hands to stop one of the policemen from approaching him with the food. Asking the police to keep away, the man points to a spot to keep the food, covering his mouth with his shirt even as he does so.
A video of this heartening exchange has been shared widely ever since the CCTV footage was posted on the internet. Thousands have been viewing and sharing the video of the homeless man strictly following social distancing protocols.
Kerala, where the coronavirus was first reported in the country, has recorded 364 cases as of Friday. Out of this, 124 have already recovered and 238 others are under treatment in various hospitals across the state. Two deaths of sexagenarians affected with COVID-19 have also been reported.
The state has been receiving a lot of praise for the handling of the disease, with early measures in place even before the first three cases had come from students returning from Wuhan in China. The government has been following a three-phase protocol, increasing the number of beds and other facilities to accommodate more patients as necessary. However, of the more than 1.29 lakh people under observation in the state, only 730 are in hospitals while the others are under home quarantine.
Awareness messages through several mediums appear to have been effective as the responsible behaviour of the homeless person in the video shows.