Worried about its 10,000-odd employees, spread across the country and all under lockdown, and could face medical issues at home, Lupin Limited, a pharmaceutical firm headquartered in Mumbai, decided to activate a network of physicians last month. Because these physicians also started getting queries regarding Coronavirus and its implications, the firm then added respiratory physicians and psychiatrists to its call roster. "When the initiative started getting a good response from the employees, we thought of extending the service to the public, many of whom would not have easy access to doctors," said Dr Dhananjay Bakhle, executive vice president, medical research, at Lupin. And so, last week Lupin launched the Jan Kovid helpline for Mumbai, a toll-free number where attendants answer questions in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.

I have a sore throat. Do I have COVID?" "My neighbour has had to self-quarantine. Am I at risk?" "Where can I go to get tested?"

As questions abound in a population that is both overloaded with information and yet, starved, private firms have stepped in to amp up the forces spreading awareness. While the state and central governments have their own helplines, there's also the 104 helpline that's run by the Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute, an initiative of Piramal Foundation, in association with state governments.