WhatsApp releases new coronavirus-themed stickers to help people talk about lockdown

Images intended to allow people to discuss their feelings about pandemic

(Santeri Viinamäki)

WhatsApp has launched a set of coronavirus-themed stickers to help people talk about life under lockdown.

The images were created in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, and can be posted into any chat on the platform.

They feature drawings that serve as reminders to wash hands, check in on loved ones and abide by social distancing rules. They were created to help people more accurately and easily discuss their feelings around lockdown, WhatsApp said.

The stickers are known as the Together at Home pack.

"We're excited to work with the World Health Organization to launch the 'Together at Home' sticker pack that will help people stay connected throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond," WhatsApp said in a blog post.

"Stickers like these can be funny, educational and universal, breaking through language, age, and other barriers.

"We hope people enjoy using these stickers to check in on loved ones, particularly those that are feeling isolated, alone, and scared.

"This pack offers creative ways to remind people to wash their hands, maintain distance, exercise, and importantly to celebrate medical heroes as well as the personal heroes in all of our lives."

The pack also shows people working from home and messaging friends and family to check in on them.

The sticker pack is now available inside the app, WhatsApp confirmed, with stickers localised in ten languages at launch: English, Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Additional reporting by agencies