Mayor plays dead as police arrest him for breaking coronavirus lockdown

Cops captured Torres lying in an open casket wearing a face mask as he pretended to be dead.

The mayor of a small town in Peru pretended to be dead due to the coronavirus, and laid still in a coffin to evade arrest for violating lockdown rules.

Jaime Rolando Urbina Torres had been drinking away with friends when he was caught by police on Monday night in the town of Tantará, in the south of the country.

Cops captured Torres lying in an open casket wearing a face mask as he pretended to be dead, reported Daily Mail. He violated curfew and social distancing laws in order to be with his friends, and was found in an inebriated state when he was arrested, police said.

It is not clear where Torres had been drinking or why open caskets were close at hand.

Locals have accused Torres of failing to take the threat of the virus seriously and poor safety precautions in the town.

Peru has recorded a total of 104,020 cases and 3,024 deaths, and is among the top four countries in terms of the rate at which deaths are increasing. Brazil and Mexico, also in the Americas, are also on the list along with Russia.