Unable to afford mask, shepherd wears bird’s nest to govt office in India’s Telangana state
Mekala Kurmayya, a shepherd, appeared at a government office in India's Telangana state wearing a bird's nest on his face as he could not afford a mask.
The shepherd hails from Chinnamunugal Chad in Telangana's Mahbubnagar district, reports Indian daily India Today.
As the infections of coronavirus has been increasing rapidly in Telangana like other states in India, the state government earlier this month issued an order making the use of face masks in public mandatory, saying that violators will be fined Rs 1,000.
Mekala came to the government office wearing the homemade mask to collect his pension payment.
He was fully aware that he would not be allowed in the government office without a mask and so fashioned a bird's nest into a face mask as he could not afford a mask.
A picture of him wearing the unique mask went viral on social media.
He requested the government to supply free masks to those who are unable to afford it.
The state of Telangana has 46,488 active cases of Covid-19. According to the state government's health department, the case fatality rate among coronavirus patients in Telangana is 0.50 percent while the recovery rate stands at 86.85 percent.
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