While some governments around the world are turning to fines, laws and public awareness campaigns to encourage social distancing and staying at home, the Swedish City of Lund is turning to the unlikeliest, and most disgusting of weapons, chicken manure.
Lund Council has ordered workers to dump 1,000 kilograms of chicken manure across its main city park to deter crowds from gathering to celebrate a public holiday known as Walpurgis night or Valborg, last Thursday, with officials hoping the smell will drive people away.
Lund Council shared a video of a worker spreading the fertilizer on its official Facebook page:
“It will stink of chicken manure and won’t be pleasant for people to be around, but the chicken has a lot of phosphorus and nitrogen in so the park will be nice just in time for the summer,” said city mayor Philip Sandberg said.
The country’s coronavirus strategy has been different than strategies from around the world. A more relaxed approach has been taken in Sweden, with shops and restaurants have remaining open, although people have been advised to work from home where they can.
Sweden has registered 21,092 coronavirus cases and 2,586 deaths among its population of 10.3 million people.