Even as the number of people tested positive for coronavirus in India crossed 700, Team India captain Virat Kohli made another earnest appeal to people to take the 21-day lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seriously.
Taking to Twitter, Kohli posted a video message, requesting people to abide by the lockdown guidelines. He said he is not making the appeal as the Team India captain, but as an ordinary citizen of the country. "In past few days, I have seen people moving in groups, not following lockdown guidelines. Looking at all these, I feel that we are not taking this fight seriously. This is not an ordinary fight as you think," he said.
Please wake up to the reality and seriousness of the situation and take responsibility. The nation needs our support and honesty. pic.twitter.com/ZvOb0qgwIV
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 27, 2020
Further, he urged people to maintain social distancing. "Please follow the directives given by the government .Think how you would feel if because of your negligence someone in your family gets affected by the virus. The government and health experts are trying hard to contain the spread of the virus. But the effort will only be successful if we exercise our duty as citizens," he said.
You are not being an honest citizen if you decide to have some fun by getting on to the road, he said, adding that he wants to see the crisis averted with the help of the people.
Earlier, Kohli and Anushka Sharma had made an appeal to people in another video message, asking them to stay at home for the next three weeks. "These are testing times and we need to wake up to the seriousness of this situation," Kohli had said in the wake of PM Modi announcing the lockdown. "If you show carelessness, the whole nation will have to pay a heavy price," he had said.
