J&K: Teacher in Poonch making masks for frontline workers fighting COVID-19

While health care workers and emergency personnel including doctors, nurses and police are spearheading the battle against coronavirus, there are some who are going the extra mile to protect those who are protecting others.

One such individual is Nirmal Sharma, who teaches at the DHS-DAV higher secondary school in the border district of Poonch in Jammu and has been making face masks at home for those fighting the deadly virus.

Following the lockdown, there was a scarcity of face masks in Poonch. Without blinking an eye, Sharma caught hold of her sewing machine and began stitching hundreds of masks everyday for police personnel, heath care professionals as well as locals in the district to protect them from the virus.

"Ever since the lockdown began, I took up stitching face masks for others, including police, health workers, poor and needy people," Sharma told PTI.

The government had announced a 21-day lockdown from March 25 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

India has recorded over 2,300 positive cases of coronavirus and at least 56 deaths so far. Globally, the virus has infected more than one million people and claimed around 50,000 lives.

Daughter of an army officer, Sharma said she works for hours at a stretch to make as many masks as possible.

Although, the work is tiring this is my way of contributing to the nation's fight against the deadly virus, she said.

I want to stand by the health workers and security personnel in this fight This work gives me satisfaction. This is not a big contribution but I am doing what I can to the best of my abilities, said Sharma, whose son is a doctor at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Srinagar.

Police have so far quarantined 43 people in Poonch.