‘Be heroes, be lazy’: Germany’s new appeal to halt Covid-19 spread

Social media campaign reminds young people to stay at home

A German government advertising campaign is urging young people to be “heroes” by being as “lazy as racoons”.A German government advertising campaign is urging young people to be “heroes” by being as “lazy as racoons”.Show less

A German government advertising campaign is urging young people to be heroes by being as “lazy as racoons”.

In a series of advertisements aimed at halting the spread of coronavirus, elderly people reflect on their younger selves and what it was like to be alive in 2020.

One elderly man said he was 22 and studying when “suddenly the fate of our country was in our hands”.

He explained at that age all he wanted to do was “to party, to study, to get to know new people” but an “invisible danger” lurked.

“We mustered all of our courage and did what was expected of us,” he said.

“The only right thing – we did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Being as lazy as racoons.”

Another video features a man who admits he was a “lazy sod” when he was younger, but he said this character flaw was suited to the times.

He said: “Doing nothing suddenly became a duty to society.

“Laziness could save lives and I was the master of that.”

A third clip said that all of Germany had “put their hopes in us young people” – alluding to a general plea from authorities that young people stick to social distancing.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has previously said of youth flouting the rules: “Think about what is most important to you. Isn't it the health of your family, your grandparents?

“It will all come back: partying, having fun. But what matters now is something else.”

The videos were posted on the German government’s social media account and went viral in the UK after they were translated into English by German-British Twitter user Axel Antoni.

Mr Antoni said while the videos were well-received abroad, many German users did not see the humour.

The social media campaign comes as Germany ramps up efforts to inoculate its population against the virus, with dozens of vaccination centres being set up nationwide.

Large exhibition halls were being discussed as potential sites for the centres.

The country reported 10,824 new coronavirus cases on Monday, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

The death toll rose by 62 to 12,547.