Bengaluru: People have been invited to volunteer by the news and public relations department, the Indian Red Cross Society and the Karnataka State Labour Studies Institute for a programme designed to provide real-time information to the public to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation about the novel coronavirus (covid-19).

The volunteers, to be dubbed “Corona Warriors”, will be entrusted with the task of monitoring social media sites to check for rumours and misinformation being spread across all the taluks. They will also be expected to provide correct information about the disease.

Applications for the volunteer positions are available online. Those who register will be trained, given security kits and identification cards at all district offices of the Department of Information and Public Relations.

In each taluk, a minimum of four volunteers will work in four shifts in a day.

Over 400 volunteers registered online on the very first day.

So far, there are about 120 volunteers in Bengaluru. Another 3000 Corona Warriors are expected to register for the programme.

In Karnataka, as many as 18 people have tested positive for covid-19. There are over 280 confirmed cases in India.