Amidst the rising number of Coronavirus cases in India, Bollywood seems to find new ways to escape its deadly effects. Dabangg star Salman Khan is also in the race and could not resist himself from giving a piece of advice to his fans. The actor advised his fans to avoid handshakes and use ‘Namaste’ and ‘Salaam’ to greet and address people.
Sharing a picture of himself in which he is seen folding hands in a namaste, the actor wrote, “Namashkaar… hamari sabhyata mein namaste aur salaam hai! Jab #coronavirus Khatam ho jaye tab Haath milao aur gale lago…. @beingstrongindia (sic).” The photo is taken inside a gym.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and India’s Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar have been the latest personalities who have supported the idea that people should greet each with folded hands under the present circumstances.
Earlier, Anupam Kher also took to social media to urge his fans to do ‘namaste’ instead of handshakes. Sharing a video of himself, he wrote, “Of late I am being told by lots of people to keep washing hands to prevent any kind of infection. I do that in any case. But also want to suggest the age old Indian way of greeting people called #Namaste. It is hygienic, friendly & centres your energies. Try it. #coronavirus (sic).”
Anupam Kher suggests the age-old Indian way of greeting people called ‘Namaste’ to avoid Coronavirus! | Hindi Movie News – Times of India https://t.co/yGPDKqENPT
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) March 4, 2020
Recently, after the Coronavirus scare spread across the world, people started ditching handshakes. While international sportspersons are replacing handshakes with fist bumps, Indians are suggesting to do namaste to greet others.
In China, people are using foot-taps instead of handshakes.
Meanwhile, with the threat of COVID-19 looming large, the government has tightened the entry into India for nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan with immediate effect. Indian citizens have also been advised to refrain from travelling to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and other affected countries.
In India, 30 people have been quarantined after testing positive for the virus. COVID-19 has so far infected more than 94,000 people across the world and claimed over 3,200 lives.