india

Updated: Mar 23, 2020 10:51 IST

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has joined the government efforts to spread awareness about checking the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19.

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RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi has asked the Sangh volunteers to carry out awareness drives about health and cleanliness and also make arrangement to provide food to those in need.

In a statement issued on Monday, Joshi said that local administration should contact public representatives to get a sense of what is required. He also urged people to cooperate and follow the decisions taken by the government in checking the spread of Sars-CoV-2 virus.

A senior functionary of the Sangh said that those volunteers will follow social distancing norms; they are also in the process of identifying how to reach out to people in need.

“There is a large section of people who earn daily wages and their income has been affected; these people will find it hard to make ends meet. We are tying to work out how we can provide food and other amenities to these people, without breaking the norms of social distancing,” said a functionary.

The RSS has also put on hold the daily shakhas in some districts to avoid people from gathering in large groups.

Eighty-two districts in 17 states the country are under lockdown following the outbreak of Covid-19 with flu-like symptoms. India has so far reported close to 400 cases and eight deaths.

Delhi government too has announced a lockdown from 6 am on March 23 to March 31.

All shops, commercial establishments, factories, workshops, offices, godowns, weekly markets have suspended their operations; only essential services and establishments have been exempted from the lockdown.

Investor wealth plummeted by over Rs 10 lakh crore in the first hour of trade on Monday as the equity markets went into a tailspin and sank 10 per cent.

Rising cases of Covid-19 has hit market sentiment negatively, with the equity markets starting the week with a massive sell-off.