Amidst the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the sports world has come to a standstill with all global tournaments and competitions called off or suspended for the time being.
To fight the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, members of the global sporting fraternity from different sports have come together to spread the word for creating awareness among the world population.
From India, cricketer Rohit Sharma was one of the earliest people to take to social media to spread the awareness. He posted a video of himself in which he asked people to be "a little smart, a little proactive" and inform the nearest medical authorities as soon as they get any symptoms.
In the same video, he also lauded the efforts of medical professionals who have been in the front lines of the battle against the virus.
Meanwhile, Captain Virat Kohli tweeted, "Let's stay strong and fight the #COVID19 outbreak by taking all precautionary measures. Stay safe, be vigilant and most importantly remember, prevention is better than cure. Please take care everyone."
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also urged the people of Chennai to understand the importance of social distancing.
"Let me rephrase it, social distancing doesn't seem to have caught the attention of the people in Chennai yet. The only reason could be their belief in the summer to curtail it or just faith that nothing will happen. #Coronaindia," he tweeted.
Following suit was Suresh Raina. The all-rounder went an extra bit to ask people to stop spreading misinformation.
"It's very important that we understand the need of social isolation to break the chain, don't spread information from unreliable sources, don't ignore the health advisories & for sure follow the hygiene measures.#coronavirus" he tweeted.
Apart from Indian cricketers, football captain Sunil Chhetri has also been proactive and has spread the word on Twitter to create an awareness.
“Your friendly reminder to 1. WASH your hands. 2. Replace panic with precaution. 3. Pick your safety over everything else,” tweeted Chhetri.
Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo posted an emotional message on social media where the Juventus player urged everyone to follow the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to stay safe in the time of the deadly virus which has taken over 5,000 lives worldwide.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also in self-isolation after Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, NBA stars also highlighted their concern regarding the coronavirus. Le Bron James of Los Angeles Lakers vented out his frustration amid the pandemic.
While Stephen Curry shared a video message on Twitter to spread the awareness about coronavirus.
“We all have to take responsibility for ourselves and do whatever it takes to #stopthespread. There’s a sense of urgency to flatten the curve and give ourselves and the healthcare system the best chance to get through this pandemic. Share this message and let’s protect each other!” tweeted Curry.
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