Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Mouni Roy, Diana Penty And Keerthi Suresh Join Hands To Become Corona Soldiers In Initiative By Apnamask

Jyothi Venkatesh

As India celebrated its 74^th Independence Day, ApnaMask, a non-profit initiative and volunteer group by StartupsVsCovid rolled ‘I am a Corona Soldier’ campaign. The campaign aims to recruit a robust force of ‘Corona Soldiers’ who protect the country against the coronavirus with very simple and light ammunition - a mask. The Corona Soldiers will commit to wearing a mask everytime they step out and will encourage others to do the same.‘I am Corona Soldier’ campaign collaborates with gallant Army veterans Lt. Col. MK Sinha (Retd), a Kargil war hero  and Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) who are calling upon every Indian to become a Corona Soldier by wearing a mask and help India win this war against Corona.

The campaign plays out on its website http://www.iamacoronasoldier.com/, where people can register and become a ‘Corona Soldier’. Equipped with a simple mask, ‘Corona Soldiers’ take the responsibility to spread the message and recruit more ‘Corona Soldiers’ by inviting them to join force through social media. The campaign that went live on August 15, 2020 has already recruited Olympic medalist Mary Kom, badminton star Saina Nehwal, Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, as well as actors Bipasha Basu, Mouni Roy, Diana Penty, Keerthi Suresh and more are joining the force.The campaign has been conceptualized basis the findings of a recent study by ApnaMask.org that examined the awareness of preventive guidelines among Indians as well as their motivation behind compliance.

Findings revealed that while awareness on masks and practicing social distancing is quiet high among Indians, compliances for the same is as low as 44%. Inconvenience is the primary reason for drop in compliance.#ApnaDeshApnaMask supports the Government’s mission to spread awareness around the importance of wearing a Homemade mask and maintaining hygiene. The campaign is building awareness and educating 1.3 billion people to adopt the trend of making masks at home and wearing them, every time they step outside. This is a very critical ask from Govt to ensure that people do not start hoarding masks that are reserved for healthcare workers.