TACLOBAN CITY –– To fight boredom during the COVID-19 quarantine, youth officials in this city have launched a contest, using the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform TikTok.
Since the contest started last March 29, more than 8,000 videos have been uploaded on their page, said Thomas John Diaz, president of the city federation of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).
Diaz hoped to have more participants before the announcement of winners on April 11, a day before the end of the 23-day restrictive community quarantine imposed by the city government.
“We came up with this Tiktok challenge to ease the boredom of our people. At the same time, we are helping our city government appeal to our people to stay in their homes,” Diaz said.
The SK leader said doing the Tiktok video challenge was better than bashing the government during this time of crisis.
As of April 1, the page was flooded with more than 8,000 videos with over 32,000 comments and more than 7,500 likes.
Diaz said videos should not be less than 30 seconds and shot inside their homes, while participants must observe social distancing as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the COVID-19.
“Tiktokers” could post the videos on their page (SK Federation of Tacloban City) using the hashtags #Sktiktokchallenge, #SKFedacloban, and #STAYATHOME.
The entry with most “likes” and “comments” wins. Winners will receive cash prizes – P3,000 for the first prize, P2,000 for the second prize, and P1,000 for the third prize.
Diaz said people joined the Tiktok challenge, not because of the prizes, which he described as “small,” but to enjoy and fight their boredom while staying in their respective homes.
Aside from the Tiktok challenge, the SK leaders of the city have also assisted the frontliners by giving them food, Diaz said.
As of April 1, Tacloban City remains COVID-free, but it has reported 29 patients under investigation and 222 persons under monitoring.