Coronavirus: Alia Bhatt says care for your pet animals, do not abandon them

Alia Bhatt has urged her fans to keep animals, love them and care for them and not to abandon them over the fear of infection amid coronavirus scare.

The Gully Boy actress took to Instagram and shared a lengthy post saying “Since the outbreak of COVID-19 news has been rampant of people abandoning their pets as well as killing or euthanising animals for fear of catching the virus from them.”

She said there is currently no evidence to suggest that pet animals can be a source of infection to humans.

She quoted Maharashtra’s health minister saying that there is no case in the world of domesticated animals spreading coronavirus and people should not abandon their pets for fear of infection.

“Pet owners—maintain good hygiene, including washing your hands before and after handling animals as well as their food and if you are sick avoid direct contact with them,” the actress advised.

She further said, "keep your animals, love them. Care for them. With everything going on in the world around us we could all do with some extra love from our furry-faced companions."

“In the end, we must come out of this crisis stronger than before with our animals - not just as the human race - but as children of the same planet.”