The Corona Virus outbreak is serious, which makes it ripe for an idiotic prank. Some in New York dressed up in hazmat suits with gloves and masks, and rode the subway while holding a plastic container with a mysterious liquid inside.
To complete the prank, the container had WARNING stickers on it. The liquid was Kool-Aid, but they didn't tell anyone. When the time was right they spilled it on the floor . . . and after people freaked out they yelled "It's a prank. It's a prank."