Covid-19 memes: From fun to funerals

WHEN Covid-19 first made headlines in Zimbabwe sometime in March last year, masses took to social media platforms, lampooning the pandemic with rib-tickling memes.

Over time, the merriment has turned to depressing daily obituaries on WhatsApp statuses, Facebook and Twitter as the body count of the killer virus edges towards five million globally, as the reality of the pandemic has finally dawned on everyone.

Previously, Zimbabweans competed to outdo each other in production of internet jokes as most people did not believe the killer virus really existed.

Hilarious depictions of how married men would suffer after being locked down at home were the order of the day.

Some even suggested, tongue in cheek, that the recommended wearing of masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 would result in future generations referring to the mouth and nose as private parts.

To many the first lockdown came as a bonus sabbatical from their crazy work schedules and others were afforded a chance to be with family for the first time without unending excuses of work and schools’ pressure.

The country’s first Covid-19 death of Zororo Makamba sent shock waves to a few who knew him personally while the majority still maintained the virus was a global political strategy to control masses.

When leaders announced that large gatherings had been banned and strict social distancing should be practiced, with immediate effect, the same people mischievously took to social media and questioned if sex was allowed during the Covid-19 lockdown.

For a while many took turns to circulate falsified reports that Kenyans had been ordered to not have sexual intercourse to avert the spread of Covid-19. The manifestation of Covid-19 has, however, been changing since the country recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 20.

Initially, cases were mainly reported from individuals with a travel history.

After a few weeks, Covid-19 cases started being concentrated at quarantine centres accommodating returning residents mainly from South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.