The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has appealed to all countrymen to together protect the lives and livelihoods in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a facebook post today, the Vice President said that most of the countries have ended the lockdowns and have started focusing on economy. He said that the Government is taking continuous measures to give a boost to the economy and asked everyone to support the government by taking necessary precautions and following the guidelines.

Calling upon the people to collectively fight against this unprecedented health crisis, Shri Naidu said that our country’s strength lies in our faith in spirituality and trust in science.

He advised people to not press the ‘panic’ button but reach out for the ‘prevention’ and ‘protection’ buttons.

Maintaining that solution to COVID-19 lies in precautions, Vice President listed simple steps such as the use of face masks, practising safe distancing and washing of hands frequently as the only known ways of staying safe.

Along with these steps, he also suggested use of traditional foods, herbal and medicinal plant preparations that have proved to be great immunity boosters.

Highlighting the importance of Yoga and meditation, Shri Naidu said, “Yoga, Pranayama and regular physical exercise which can be done at home can make our bodies strong enough to keep the virus at bay”.

Talking about the uncertainty and anxiety created by the pandemic in life for many, the Vice President advised the people not to get anxious. “A lot depends on our mind…. We should search for minimizing our anxiety and let it not get better of us” he advised.

Asking people to stay connected with family and friends, he wrote that technology can help them enjoy the feeling of togetherness and connectedness even if it is virtually.

He asked people to invest free time in activities that can keep them fruitfully occupied such as music, fine arts, literature, cooking, learning new languages etc. Each of us must discover as to what will make us happy and pursue it, Shri Naidu added.

Cautioning the citizens not to get carried away by sensational news or the panic-inducing social media posts, the Vice President asked them to develop an attitude of accepting the reality and working hard to protect themselves and their families. He also asked them to refrain from forwarding unfounded, unverified and panic causing messages.

Reminding the people of Krishna’s advice to Arjuna who had said, ‘please keep doing what you need to do and do it well’, Shri Naidu appealed to people to stay calm and have a firm belief that that no storm can continue forever.

Quoting the spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar, the Vice President said that our real-life partner is our body. Therefore we must take utmost care of our body by eating the right kind of food and by doing physical exercise to stay fit. Only then will our body support us in fighting diseases, he added.

The Vice President also opined that there could not be an easy or definitive answer to the questions such as- ‘How long will this restricted and constricted lifestyle last and when will we return to our normal lifestyle?’ We have to probably live with both the uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic and the stress it has induced, he added.

Noting the increasing number of corona cases in big cities, the Vice President expressed optimism over the fact that many of those affected are overcoming the virus and only a small percentage of the affected population needs hospitalization.

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VRRK/MS/MSY/DP