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As the novel coronavirus sweeps across India infecting around 195 people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the Janata Curfew on Sunday in order to encourage people to self-quarantine.
While social distancing can help contain the spread of the virus, it has also disrupted the daily routine of people. Shops, cinema halls, swimming pools, and gymnasiums, among others, are temporarily suspended until further notice.
While the silver lining in the cloud is that many digital platforms have given free access to their virtual services in order to make the quarantine period more engaging.
Here is a list of free resources for self-isolation amidst the COVID-19 outbreak:
Audible
Audible had announced on March 19 the launch of Audible Stories, a service to provide audiobooks to small children and teens for free until the coronavirus pandemic persists. Audible has announced the service as schools are temporarily shut in the wake of coronavirus, as per the company’s official release.
Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle Digest
Amar Chitra Katha Media, publisher of the popular Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) and Tinkle Comics is offering a free one-month subscription to everyone. This move came as the government has temporarily shut down operations including offices, schools, and public places. The free subscription will allow people to browse through the entire content via the ACK and Tinkle apps. The free subscription is available until March 31.
Online courses on COVID-19 by WHO
The World Health Organization has launched a variety of online courses on the coronavirus outbreak in order to create awareness about the virus. People can know more about the spread of the disease and the tactics adopted by different countries to curb their effect. The course is available on OpenWHO.org.
Paulo Coelho e-books for free
Renowned writer Paulo Coelho has also announced for his readers the copies of some of his e-books for free. Free e-books are also available in different languages, including English, Portuguese, and Espanol.
The 50-year-old novelist made the announcement on Instagram and wrote: “During the current COVID-19 pandemic, I posted some titles (e-books) for free on my page.”
JSTOR
JSTOR is a digital repository of academic resources. JSTOR has also made accessible a part of its database to the public for free for some time. The online library has more than 6,000 ebooks and 150 journals available, and the organization has stated they are currently working with publishers to make a larger set of content freely available to institutions where students no longer have access to educational resources.
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