Following the increased number of coronavirus death recorded in India, some citizens who have not been vaccinated against the deadly virus have been made to wear skull and crossbones sign which is the universal symbol for danger.
The sign reads “Do not come near me, I am not vaccinated. Please stay away from me.”
Officers in the Niwari district of central Madhya Pradesh state said they introduced the policy to encourage more vaccinations but this has ignited anger in a country where shots are in short supply.
According to Patel and video footage from the district. Some people were seen wearing the signs taped to their chests. The policy has provoked anger online, with social media users calling it an “insult” and “stigmatizing”.
“Watching the low vaccination rate in our district we decided to honor the people who got vaccinated, but then we also found a large number of people who were not vaccinated,” Santosh Patel, a sub-divisional police officer posted in the Prithvipur block of Niwari district, told Reuters on Thursday.
“So to teach them a lesson and encourage them to get vaccinated, we administrated an oath to get them inoculated as soon as possible.”
Those who were vaccinated were given a sign with the colors of the Indian flag reading “I am a nationalist.”
Around 14% of residents in Madhya Pradesh have had one inoculation against coronavirus, with vaccination rates in rural areas like Niwari among the lowest anywhere in the country.
India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, is suffering from supply issues after exporting tens of millions of shots, including donations to smaller nations.
India’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 359,676 while the infection tally has increased to 29,183,121.
