New Delhi, Mar 18 (IANS): Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday urged fellow countrymen to act responsibly and follow the guidelines issued by the health authorities in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

"As citizens, we have to act responsibly. We could follow simple steps to keep the coronavirus at bay. It is my request to everyone to follow basic guidelines to try our best to ensure we all stay safe," Tendulkar tweeted.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had also expressed concern over the coronavirus outbreak and called upon the countrymen to take all preventive steps.

In a video posted on his official social media handles, Rohit said that people need to be smart and proactive in their approach to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

"Last few weeks have been tough for all of us and the world has come to a standstill, which is very sad to see. The only way we can come to normalcy is by coming together. And we can do this by being a little smart, a little proactive, knowing our surroundings and as and when we get any symptoms inform your nearest medical authorities," said Rohit.

"Let's stay strong and fight the COVID-19 outbreak by taking all precautionary measures. Stay safe, be vigilant, and most importantly remember, prevention is better than cure. Please take care everyone," Kohli had tweeted last week.

Meanwhile, Suresh Raina warned against spreading misinformation related to coronavirus and to follow health advisories.

"It's very important that we understand the need of social isolation to break the chain, don't spread information from unreliable sources, don't ignore the health advisories & for sure follow the hygiene measures," he had tweeted.

As of now, 147 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in India and three lives have been lost.