Jakarta (AFP)

Bloodthirsty monster armed with a scythe or dinosaur destroying everything in its path, the coronavirus has multiple faces on the murals drawn by Indonesian artists to inform the public and fight against the pandemic.

Seeing the orders dry up because of the coronavirus crisis, artists from the Jakarta region used their free time to illustrate the walls of their neighborhood and spread prevention messages.

When the country's first two Covid-19 cases were detected in Depok, a town on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital, residents panicked and some attacked the victims.

"This unjustified outburst of panic prompted me to paint these walls. I wanted to cheer people up so that we have positive energy to fight the virus," said Sulis Listanto, a resident.

And "it's easier to inform people with pictures".

The young man imagined a fresco showing a globe attacked by the virus with the message: "Save the world".

Other frescoes in this campaign have a darker tone to highlight the dangers of the virus, such as a cat monster with bloody teeth and armed with a scythe which bears the inscription "Covid-19", or a dinosaur emerging from 'a section of wall destroyed.

Another artist, Yahya, chose a juxtaposition of colorful patterns to encourage people to confine themselves.

"Before, we painted walls of schools or cafes, but as we have no job we thought it was the best time to inform the public", underlines the young man who like many Indonesians does not wear than a name.

"Through these paintings, we encourage people to stay at home and pay tribute to healthcare professionals."

The artists' collective thinks that their warnings in pictures will have more effect than public health messages.

"We tried to make walls painted in bright colors so that they radiate a positive message and help people to remain optimistic during this difficult period," Yahya notes.

The coronavirus has killed 459 and contaminated nearly 5,000 people in Indonesia, according to authorities, the heaviest toll in Asia after China.

But these statistics are considered to be probably very underestimated in an archipelago of more than 260 million inhabitants which has carried out only a very limited number of tests.

The Indonesian authorities have chosen not to impose very strict confinement in the capital, where half of the cases are concentrated.

© 2020 AFP