Variety

Mr Bean presents a ‘Covid checklist’ for WHO

Our Burea Mumbai | Updated on June 23, 2020 Published on June 23, 2020

Global comedy star ‘Mr Bean’ has been roped in for a public service announcement (PSA) on Covid-19. Rowan Atkinson, who played Mr Bean, has lent his voice to the PSA launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Project Everyone and Tiger Aspect Productions.

Mr Bean’s Essential Covid-19 Checklist is a reminder to people about the importance of washing hands, physical distancing and demonstrating kindness to their neighbours, the WHO said on the PSA. It features a cartoon sketch of Mr Bean comically tackling a pesky roller blind to finally reveal a number of essential tips to protect people against Covid-19.

Atkinson created the Mr Bean character to be ‘a child in a grown man's body’ when he was at Oxford University, along with filmmaker and Sustainable Development Goal advocate Richard Curtis, the note said.

Mr Bean, which was originally broadcast in the 1990s before transforming into an animated series, has since expanded on a global scale with 96 million Facebook followers globally and major fan-bases across India, Brazil and Indonesia. Mr Bean also celebrates his 30th anniversary in 2020.

The PSA was coordinated by Project Everyone, a not-for-profit agency devised by Curtis working to put the power of communications behind the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO said.

Published on June 23, 2020

A letter from the Editor


Dear Readers,

The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.

Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.

In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.

We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.

But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.

I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.

A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!

Support Quality Journalism
Michael Keaton may reprise his role as Batman in upcoming ‘Flash’ movie: Report