Tennis great Roger Federer has appealed to his legion of fans to take the threat of coronavirus seriously, failing which everyone could end up in quarantine pretty soon.

The 38-year-old tennis superstar, who is currently nursing a knee injury, said that he and his family are in self-isolation at their home in Switzerland and will continue to remain so till the crisis tides off.

“I’m also staying home, and I haven’t been shaking anybody’s hands for quite some time now,” Federer said in an Instagram message to his 7 million-plus followers.

Over 300,000 people have so far tested positive for the virus with over 13,000 deaths across the globe.

“I wash my hands very frequently as we’re supposed to. I believe helping each other is more important now than ever, especially because we want to help the older generation.

“They’re the ones at highest risk, and we need to help them by keeping a distance of two metres and not shake hands. It’s really important to take these rules seriously. Very, very seriously.

“Eventually, we could all be in quarantine and not be able to leave the house anymore, so I really hope all of us take it very seriously,” he added.

Earlier, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams had also shared her experience of self isolation due to coronavirus and how the experience has been distressing.