Catchy PSA about coronavirus turns into viral TikTok challenge about washing your hands
A popular Vietnamese music artist just released a catchy song with an important message that the nation's major health organization does not want you to forget. Lyricist Khac Hun wrote the song with Vietnam's National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health as a PSA to teach people how to thoroughly wash their hands during the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.
The song is based on the Vietnamese pop hit "Ghen" by singers Min and Erik — except with a new title, "Ghen Cô Vy," it has taken on a new meaning about coronavirus. The lyrics to the song advise people not to rub their eyes and mouths, limit going to crowded places and stay clean.
A popular dancer in Vietnam, Quang Dang, choreographed moves to go with the lyrics and sparked the "Ghen Cô Vy Challenge" on TikTok.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Quang Đăng (@im.quangdang) on
Now, people around the world are dancing to the song on social media, sharing a message about the importance of hand washing to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
The National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health asked Quang Dang to create the viral dance to get the trend going, and it only took him 15 minutes to come up with the choreography, he told CBS News.
"I think the importance of the song and dance is the RIGHT information that they give to the audience," the dancer wrote in an email to CBS News. "And the viral dance will help spread this information to the community. Especially the young people... they tend to not get the right information."
The viral phenomenon has taught Quang Dang something, too. "In the dark days like this, Corona virus has made this world upside down," he wrote. "There are things like dance and music that make us look into the bright side of life, stay positive and connect people. This makes me love dance more than ever!"
Unicef promoted Quang Dang's dance video on Facebook, writing: "We love this handwashing dance from Vietnamese dancer, Quang Đăng. Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the first steps to protect yourself from #coronavirus."
John Oliver also spoke about the song and dance trend on HBO's "Last Week Tonight" on Sunday, calling Vietnam's PSA "incredible."
"Vietnam made a song about washing your hands to prevent coronavirus infection and it absolutely slaps," Oliver said. "That's a club banger right there!" He also mentioned the now-viral TikTok challenge.
As of Wednesday, countless videos using Quang Dang's hashtag #GhenCoVyChallenge have amassed 2.1 million views on TikTok. In the videos, social media users mimic his choreography, rubbing their hands together as if they're washing them, and throwing up peace signs.