The Coronavirus panic is getting worse day by day.
The virus that initially originated from Wuhan, China is evidently taking over globally with approximately 110,111 registered cases in almost all big nations of the world.
Coronavirus which is alternatively named as COVID-19 was first detected in China in late December and reportedly infected around 88,000 people alone in the Chinese nation in a month.
However, considering the infectious nature of the disease it has been comprehended that the best way to fight it is by taking preventive measures.
A few cases of people having a travel history to these virus struck regions were also tested positive for the COVID-19 test in India.
Considering that India is the second most populous country in the world and it cannot afford a major outbreak of the coronavirus in its population, the Indian government is taking every possible step to ensure control over the disease.
Hacking The Caller tune To Spread Awareness
Amidst all other steps taken to keep the widespread disease in control, Indian government has devised a novel way to prevent the spread of the disease by inducing awareness amongst its citizens.
The government has instructed the telecom companies to caution people about the virus by playing an awareness message each time an outgoing call is made.
These orders have been executed by major telecom operators so you shouldn’t be surprised if you encounter ‘a man coughing followed by a message on precautions and management of COVID-19’ every time you make an outgoing call.
As a 20-year-old, hearing the same audio clip for 10 times a day is likely irritating than spreading awareness. Moreover, it can misguide common people into believing that the disease has crossed huge proportions and we’re heading towards an apocalypse when in reality everything is fine and under control.
The Trick To Get Rid Of The Imposed Audio
I understand that it’s irksome to hear an imposed audio or lecture over something you already know. But since it’s an official order, we can’t do much about it.
However, one such exception has been made by telecom operators to spare you from listening to COVID-19 cautionary message every time you make an outgoing call.
Trick 1
Your phone will be spared from playing such a message if you have subscribed for a paid caller tune service by your operator. Convenient, huh? ;)
Thus, you can disable this audio message from your phone by subscribing to a caller tune of your choice and notifying your operator to run the same.
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Trick 2
It is also observed that another hack to get away without hearing the ‘coughing audio’ is by pressing ‘#’ or ‘1’ as soon as you make an outgoing call.
Pressing a ‘#’ or ‘1’ will connect your call directly without torturing you with that annoying coronavirus warning message. However, it has been noted that this hack comes with a glitch and is not functional on all mobile operators and works only on phones updated with the latest android version.
We understand that the government is concerned about the spread of the disease and is doing everything it takes to halt the same, but hacking into people’s phone and forcing them to hear something they did not sign up for is a move which is not appreciated.
Not only this, playing Coronavirus warning in place of your default caller tune will create more panic than control.
Plus, one outgoing call a day should be enough, I feel.
How Are People Reacting Over This Move
While such a move is made to educate people over the exponential nature of the disease and to take necessary preventive measures, hearing the same audio 10 times a day has less to do with taking control over the disease and is more of an invasion to privacy.
As soon as the orders were enforced, netizens made sure to share their experience over social media. As expected, people are annoyed at such a strategy than being happy. Some of the tweets expressing their criticism are attached below:
https://twitter.com/AnantRangaswami/status/1236861563912335366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1236861563912335366&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tribuneindia.com%2Fnews%2Ftwitterati-confused-after-telcos-replace-default-caller-tune-with-coronavirus-advisory-53341
@TRAI Th e CORONA VIRUS ringtone is irritating.
The call proceeds only after the entire " precautionary guidelines " are over.
And then if the call goes on waiting , you have to bear the entire " notice " again till the time it connects..@rsprasad @airtelindia @VodafoneIN— Pranay Ajmera (@pranaysajmera) March 9, 2020
Dr. J D Rawat, Vice-President, IMA says, “Setting such caller tunes and message may make people misinterpret that the spread of infection has acquired huge proportion and will create panic.“
As of today, there have been 43 registered cases of COVID-19 in India and more than 3,500 people are kept in isolation or quarantined so as to prevent the occurrence and spread of the virus.
The mortality rate of COVID-19 is estimated to be 3%. Considering the data gathered from our country, no fatality has been yet reported and the government is acting quickly on suspected cases.
Thus, it can be said the spread of disease is still in control in India and one needs to stop panicking over the same.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Economic Times, Hindustan Times + more
Find The Blogger: @ZehraYameena
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The corona virus advisory on caller tune is more deadly and contagious than the virus itself. Psychological disturbance will impact high. As it is, pesky calls even on DND numbers are a menace. TRAI has done little to combat pesky call virus. Now one more addition to the family of irritating calls. As we have heard enough of it kindly stop. Else continuous hearing will mentally put us in virus camp.