Suparna Bhaskaran is a researcher and fellow at the Institute of Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School.

Madhumita Dutta is an Assistant Professor in Geography at The Ohio State University.

Sirisha Naidu is an Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Note: All the authors have contributed equally to this article, which is a concise version of a longer essay titled ‘Flattening the Curve or Flattening Life? Public Service Announcements in the Pandemic’, Economic & Political Weekly Engage, 56 (9) 27 February 2021.