“Various disasters and crises have shown that human help and cooperation have been crucial to overcome them. Kerala has performed well in fighting coronavirus as the public cooperated with the government in adopting safety precautions. Students must be on the frontline by creating awareness among the public and help in containing the pandemic,” said Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan here on Monday.
He was addressing around 70 NSS volunteers of Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College during the inaugural session of a two-day training programme on ways to effectively spread awareness of coronavirus pandemic. With a module prepared by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru, the training is given by the mental health professionals of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation.
The training was completed at Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), Lady Doak College and The American College.
These students will spread awareness of ways to identify COVID-19 symptoms and the importance of adopting safety precautions such as wearing face masks, maintaining personal distancing and frequent hand-washing.
The MP said the public were loaded with unnecessary news about the pandemic, resulting in mental stress and anxiety. “Hence, the awareness created by the students is crucial to protect their mental well-being,” he said.
MKU Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan said through this initiative they were aiming to train around 3,000 students. “Each student will spread awareness to 100 people,” he said.
Government Rajaji Hospital Dean J. Sangumani said while medical professionals were treating patients, the students would play an important role in primary prevention by creating awareness.
Only community participation would help in making this fight against COVID-19 successful, said M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation Founder C. Ramasubramanian.
Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College Principal B. Manoharan and secretary M. Vijayaragavan were present.
