Community celebrations and a symbolic cleansing took place on Sunday, July 26, as a large wooden coronavirus effigy went off with a bang adjacent to the Longley International Hotel.

The event was intended to inject positivity into the recovery for the local community as Kingborough emerges from lockdown.

The theatre opened with a pantomime between a virus and two exterminators.

A large wooden syringe then shot flames into the wooden virus, which was staged on two giant rolls of toilet paper.

The wooden virus was painted with a map of the globe and coated with protrusions representing the COVID-19 structure.

Complete with a giant wooden hand sanitiser bottle on stand-by, the flames and smoke provided a spectacular end to the virus effigy.

The burning took place at dusk, with a fireworks show shortly afterward.

There was a small parade at the event with music provided by the City of Hobart Highland Pipe Band.

Pictured above: Spectacular scenes injected positivity into the community as a large wooden coronavirus effigy was shot up in flames as part of celebrations in Longley on Sunday, July 26. (PS Carolyn Whitehouse)