The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a mysterious drone that has taken to the skies of New York City urging people to maintain social distance over the weekend.
A video clip showing a drone equipped with a loudspeaker telling New Yorkers to maintain social distancing in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. On Sunday, CBS News posted the clip of the mysterious drone flying over a Manhattan park on social media.
Mysterious drone tells people to practise social distancing
"This is the Anti-COVID-19 volunteer drone task force," the drone blares over its speakers as people walk and bike by in the clip. "Please maintain a social distance of at least six feet. Again, please maintain social distancing."
"Please help stop the spread of this virus," the voice adds. "Reduce the death toll and save lives. For our own safety and our family's safety, please maintain social distancing. Thank you for your co-operation. We are all in this together."
Under the rules of New York State's lockdown, people have been told to only go out for essential business and exercise and to maintain a distance of six feet from each other. The city has become the epicentre of the deadly virus in the United States, with more than 68,000 infected and over 2,700 fatalities as of this morning.
Who is behind the drone?
While law enforcement officials in some countries like China, Spain and France, have employed the use of such drones as part of their measures to enforce lockdowns, the same has not been authorised in the US, with the exception of select cities in California.
No one has come forward to claim responsibility and the New York Police Department has also confirmed that they were not behind the drone, which has left authorities wondering who is operating this "volunteer drone task force."
For those who may not be aware, it is illegal to fly drones in New York City, barring a few areas authorised by the FAA. This has led the agency to initiate an investigation over whether the unidentified operator had registered the drone and had the required clearance to fly it.
