Assam Police use Jim Carrey's 'The Mask' reference to spread COVID-19 awareness

With coronavirus lockdown in place, Indian police departments are getting creative with their social media updates related to the deadly disease. The recent to join the bandwagon is Assam police, who used the famous American superhero comedy film 'The Mask' reference to urge people to wear face masks while going out. Assam police took to Twitter on April 17, where the department urged people to carry a mask while going out and wear it in public places. Assam police used the reference from Jim Carrey's 1994 flick.

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The post is garnering a lot of reactions from netizens who flooded the timeline with praise for the department. One user suggested that the wages of the admin be raised based on the recent tweet alone. Another user lauded the great humour display in these difficult times. After receiving a lot of positive reactions, Assam police's posted another movie-related awareness message on April 18. Assam police used Sholay reference to advice people to not ride pillion on motorcycle amid the health crisis. 

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India had gone under a complete nationwide lockdown on March 25 for 21 days, which was extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 for another two weeks. According to data by worldometer, India has recorded 14,425 coronavirus cases so far, of which 488 people have lost their lives. There are currently 11,892 active cases in the country, while 2,045 patients have been treated successfully. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus pandemic has infected over 2.26 million people globally and has killed nearly 1,54,000 patients since it first broke out in December 2019. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in Chinese city of Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Currently, the United States, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom are the most affected countries in the world with a recorded death toll of 14,000 and above.

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