As India battle to contain and curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic, veteran Indian international and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has changed the name of his Twitter handle to "lets stay indoors India" to create awareness about staying at home and maintaining social distancing. Ashwin of late has been very vocal and available on social media to inform and make people aware of the importance of social distancing and staying indoors amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The virus situation has already escalated in the country with over 490 people confirmed to have contracted the virus while nine have died after getting diagnosed with the disease.  Next Two Weeks Extremely Crucial, Says R Ashwin on COVID-19.

India observed a 14-hour Janta Curfew” on March 22, 2020 (Sunday) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the people to stay indoors and practise social distancing. But with the situation further escalating, almost 30 states and union territories have gone under complete lockdown until the end of this month. Ashwin took to Twitter on Sunday to praise people for maintaining the “janta curfew” and urged them to continue it for a couple of more days.

Ravichandran Ashwin Changes Twitter Name (Photo Credits: Twitter/@ashwinravi99)

"Unbelievable start to the #JantaCurfew , pin-drop silence as they used to say in school. Hope this is extended beyond this day and social distancing can be adhered to In the days to come," he had tweeted on Sunday. He then went on to change his Twitter name to create more awareness.

Ravi Ashwin Urges People to Extend Quarantine

Ashwin also warned that if the situation escalates further “it will be mayhem” before urging people to maintain social distancing for a longer period of time. "Taking in all information ( both authentic and some seemingly panicky ones). One thing seems certain " The next 2 weeks are going to be extremely crucial. Every city in India should literally feel deserted for the next 2 weeks, cos if this escalates it will be mayhem."

"We need to remember we are a densely populated country and a very large part of them don't have access to information,” he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2020 02:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).