Guwahati, Mar 17 (IANS): In an attempt to spread the importance of hygiene amid the coronavirus pandemic, star Indian athlete Hima Das has taken the #SafeHands challenge and urged the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, M.C. Mary Kom, Sania Mirza and Rani Rampal to take it forward.

"Wash your hands properly and regularly wherever you are. Let's come together and spread awareness," Hima said in a tweet with a 45-second video of her washing her hands. She also tagged Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in her post.

Earlier, ace Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu had also taken up the challenge and had posted a video on Twitter in which she was seen washing her hands with soap for almost 30 seconds.

"Thank you Katherine Hadda for the challenge. Definitely we all can help slow the spread of COVID-19. I now challenge Kiren Rijiju, Virat Kohli and Sania Mirza. Make sure everyone wash your hands properly," she tweeted.

The World Health Organisation, which has declared coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, has been continuously asking people to wash their hands with soap regularly to avoid infection.

Overall, 7,000 people have lost their lives across the world. In India 126 confirmed cases have been reported so far and three people have lost their lives due to coronavirus.