Amidst reports of a shortage of face masks in the national capital, First Lady of India Savita Kovind has taken it upon herself to stitch face masks for the needy. An image shared on Twitter by a former parliamentarian shows Savitha Kovind stitching masks on a sewing machine at a tailoring training centre in the Presidential Complex. The masks stitched at those centres are distributed at various shelter homes in Delhi.
I salute our First Lady, Smt Savita Kovind, who dedicated her time to stitch masks for the needy & set a worthy example of leadership in difficult times. I hope others emulate her work & help in whatever way they can to mitigate the danger posed by #COVIDー19. @rashtrapatibhvn pic.twitter.com/E6Y7Oag0EB
— Parimal Nathwani (@mpparimal) April 23, 2020
As face masks have disappeared from neighbourhood markets, the principal scientific adviser to the federal government released a manual for do-it-yourself masks using cotton fabric to protect oneself from COVID-19 infections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been using home-made masks during his virtual interactions with state chiefs. He has also advised members of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to wear masks and distribute face masks to at least five to seven people. “You should wear a face cover when you go out and even at home whenever possible”, Modi told BJP workers on the party’s foundation day earlier in April.
India currently has a caseload of 21,393 COVID-19 infections as of Thursday, which includes 4,258 persons cured, while 681 people have lost their lives to the disease.
