Five years on, ’Go Corona Go’ videos go viral as internet recalls Covid-19 memories; netizens say ‘never forget’

March marks five years since the world began battling COVID-19, following the World Health Organization's (WHO) declaration of the pandemic. In India, the lockdown began with the government's Janata Curfew, a historic day remembered for citizens, marked by banging utensils, clapping, lighting lamps, and even chanting "Go Corona Go" to keep up the spirits in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 years of Janata Curfew

As Saturday completes 5 years since the Janata Curfew, social media is buzzing with memories of covid days. Among them, the viral ‘go corona go’ meme has made its way back to the feed.

Internet remembers ‘Go corona go’ meme

Recalling the virus outbreak, a user took to X, formerly known as Twitter and wrote, “Happy go corona day. 5th anniversary of stupidity.”

“5 years ago today while the world was shivering with fear of Corona, Indians celebrated Corona (sic),” added another user.

One more posted: “5 years ago on this day when the whole world was struggling to tackle Covid-19, we Indians (from commoners to influencers) were banging utensils in the name of Janata Curfew to shoo corona away. Never forget! Happy 5th anniversary of Janata curfew! (sic)”

Someone also penned a long note talking about lessons from covid era. The user shared, “Just 5 years ago on this day life changed temporarily into a situation which we or our previous generations had never experienced before! #COVID”

The user continued, “The unprecedented change gave us a rare chance of understanding how valuable this life was and how less we all needed materialistically to lead a meaningful change to be happy and content. Sadly, nothing changed and majority today are back to the same mindset of being manipulative, selfish, exploitive, egotistical and arrogant beings as before! What a rare opportunity lost, where mankind had a wonderful chance to create a better world for themselves and the future generations! As they say, life goes on…(sic)”

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First covid lockdown in India

India observed the Janata Curfew, a nationwide voluntary lockdown initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to combat the spread of COVID-19. From 7 AM to 9 PM, citizens stayed indoors. At 5 PM, people across the country clapped, banged utensils, and rang bells to honour frontline workers.

Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Deepika Padukone, as well as political leaders such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and more joined in to show solidarity.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 778 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded worldwide. India alone reported approximately 45 million cases, while China, the origin of the virus outbreak, recorded 99.4 million cases, according to the organization.