At 8 pm on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on the national television and putting end to all speculations, announced a strict 21-day country-wide lockdown to prevent spread of Covid-19 aka Coronavirus. This was also a declaration of India entering a decisive stage in the war against the global pandemic, at the forefront of which are medical professionals such as nurses and doctors. While experts across the world are striving to introduce a vaccination for the life-threatening virus, doctors in hospitals are combating the menace at the ground level. Their commitment to work is coupled with heavy psychological burden as well.

With the pandemic holding humanity hostage and practically placing millions of Indians under house arrest, one thing that we all are fighting simultaneously is acute boredom. What has come to our rescue in this phase are the various short video platforms, such as VMate. Besides entertaining us, the short video apps are also adding to our pool of information regarding the virus. VMate, which has emerged as an active warrior in the battle, has witnessed convergence of doctors and medical professionals as well who are spreading authenticated and valuable information among the users.

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One of the doctors on the trending short video app is Khushboo Tanwar from Faridabad in Haryana, who has explained the various symptoms of the virus – dry cough, fever, headache, fatigue and breathing trouble. She also explains how we can make home-made sanitizers using doctor spirit and aloe vera. Another doctor on the app, Dr Chitra Tamta from Nainital, has touched upon a common but least realized mistake that we commit. Most of us have been using masks since the outbreak of coronavirus but sadly, most of us have been doing it the wrong way. Dr Tamta, through her videos, has explained the right ways to wear a mask and use sanitizers.

Dr Animesh is another senior medical practitioner who is using VMate to spread awareness among masses. In his videos, the doctor stresses upon the need and means to ensure cleanliness, and also advises people to maintain a healthy diet to boost immunity. Adding to the bank of information is Dr Deepak Devgun from Haryana’s Kurukshetra. According to Dr Devgun, we must refrain from buying loose rations and instead stick to branded and packaged ration till the crisis is averted. According to him, germs/virus can be transmitted easily through loose lentils, rice, etc. Similarly, Dr Sandeep from UP’s Gautam Buddh Nagar has highlighted how regular exercise can help boost our immunity and deal with the situation.

With the mankind presumably facing the worst-ever health crisis, the tips and suggestions by these physicians on VMate can turn out to be life-saving mantra for us. Through small doable steps, they empower us and provide ammo to combat the corona crisis.

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It is not for the first time that VMate, which is among the 10 most downloaded social media apps in the world, has offered us valuable information with regard to the Covid-19 outbreak. Recently, a number of videos of mask makers – stitching masks in bulk at factories and even small-time workshops – had trended on the platform. In the course of it, some of the creators had explained how a simple piece of cloth/handkerchief could be used to make a mask. Besides, some of the creators went for a lighter take on the issue, bringing smiles to our faces in the difficult times. Some had used parodies of popular songs while a few others had used jingles of advertisements to educate all on various aspects of the pandemic.