Using scarecrows to ward off coronavirus

Standing guard: Two scarecrows tied to a fence in front of houses in Kampong Cham province set up by superstitious residents as sentries known as ‘Ting Mong’ to ward off the coronavirus. — AFP

Armed with a stick, a floral-shirted scarecrow with a plastic pot for a head stands guard in front of a rural Cambodian home – a sentry erected by superstitious farmers to ward off the coronavirus.

Known as “Ting Mong” in Khmer, the creatively rendered scarecrows often pop up in villages that have been hard-hit by infectious diseases like dengue or water-borne diarrhoea.