This Article is From Apr 10, 2020

Watch: Kerala Homeless Man's Social Distancing Demo For Cops Helping Him

The CCTV footage dated April 8 - released by a local shopkeeper - has been shared widely on social media.

The interaction between Kerala cops, homeless man was caught on a video.

Kozhikode, Kerala:

A heartwarming video has surfaced from Kerala's Kozhikode, about 380 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, that shows a homeless man's apparent attempt to adhere to social distancing norms amid rising number of cases of coronavirus or COVID-19 as he is helped by some policemen.

The CCTV footage dated April 8 - released by a local shopkeeper - has been shared widely on social media.

In the clip, three policemen, wearing masks, can be seen entering a lane and they see a homeless man lying down on a pavement. One of the cops uses hand gestures to ask the man if he has eaten anything. In response, the man can be seen placing his hands on the stomach.

The policeman, after a brief pause, turns to one of his colleagues, gives some instructions. All three cops leave the spot and return with a food packet and water bottle. As one cop moves towards the homeless man, he is suddenly stopped. The food belonged to a sub-inspector who was a part of the team, police later said.

The homeless man gestures with an urgency, asks them not to come forward. He then gets up, draws a circle, and tells the cop to leave the food packet, bottle there. As the cop puts down the stuff, the man covers his mouth and takes the food.

"The patrolling team saw him (homeless man) and found out that he had not eaten anything. Sub-inspector Rafook PK asked civil police officials - Sreejith and Basheer - to get the food parcel that was kept aside, which was handed over to the man. The man, I think , possibly aware of the need of social distancing and staying away, made a circle and asked us to leave the parcel there. He then was seen taking it and eating it," an official at Perambra police station explained to NDTV.

"Apart from community kitchen, several people have been calling us at the police station and volunteering with food packets for those in need," he added.

Social distancing is believed to be one of the effective ways to control the spread of the virus. 

Kerala, which reported India's first case about two months ago, has reported more than 350 cases so far, including two deaths. More than 90 patients have already recovered.

On Thursday, the southern state got crucial approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research for testing plasma transfusion as a mode of treatment for critical COVID-19 patients. The multi-centre trials, however, are still awaiting permissions from the Drug Controller of India, since this involves relaxation in blood donation norms.

India has recorded over 6,400 COVID-19 patients so far, including at least 199 deaths. 

World

67,69,38,430Cases
62,55,71,965Active
4,44,81,893Recovered
68,84,572Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 200 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 67,69,38,430 and 68,84,572 have died; 62,55,71,965 are active cases and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 10:54 am.

India

4,50,19,214 475Cases
3,919 -83Active
4,44,81,893 552Recovered
5,33,402 6Deaths
In India, there are 4,50,19,214 confirmed cases including 5,33,402 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,919 and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 8:00 am.

State & District Details

State Cases Active Recovered Deaths
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