New Delhi, As India battles the coronavirus pandemic, ace badminton player Kidambi Srikanth has urged people to stay home and utilise this lockdown period to spend time with their close ones.The country is currently under a 21-day lockdown as it looks to fight back against the coronavirus outbreak.

"Utilize this period as an opportunity to spend time with your close ones and do things which you never got time to do at home. Stay strong and stay at home," Srikanth said in a tweet.

Earlier, he had made a contribution towards the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund. However, he did not reveal the amount of his contribution.

"By staying at home, we can help the nation in a great manner. I've done my contribution towards PM cares fund and request you all to do so as well, so that we can fight with COVID-19," he had tweeted on March 28.

On April 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to 49 sports personalities, including Sachin Tendulkar, PV Sindhu, Virat Kohli and others, urging them to keep spreading awareness and request people to follow the guidelines as the country fights the pandemic.

More than 4000 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported so far in the country while over 100 people have lost their lives.