Part of DRONELIFE’s ongoing coverage of drones as a part of the COVID-19 crisis response.
Business Insider reports that Spanish Police are using drones to ask people to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Spain has declared a state of emergency and has ordered its population to stay indoors and to avoid unnecessary trips after seeing a sharp rise in the cases of the coronavirus in the last several days. As of March 15th, Spain has over 7,700 reported cases with 288 deaths. (The population of Spain is estimated to be about 47 million people; about 9 million of the 47 million are classified as living in rural areas.). China also used drones to make public service announcements.
Footage published Sunday by BBC News shows eerily deserted Madrid streets policed by drones. (Video embedded below.)The drones are controlled by human officers who relay warnings through them via radio. In the footage, one officer can be seen relaying a warning that people should vacate public parks and return home.
The move got mixed reviews from the public, with some Twitter users saying that the use of drones was “disturbing” or reminiscent of George Orwell’s science fiction book 1984: others applauded the government’s efforts to inform communities in a safe way.
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[…] find ways to use drone tech to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Spanish police used drones as aerial megaphones to urge people to stay home during the pandemic. British police have also launched drone patrols to […]