A woman has gone viral on Twitter with a timely reminder for people to be compassionate to the elderly during the coronavirus pandemic.

As COVID-19 has swept across the globe, it quickly became clear that its most devastating consequences disproportionately affected the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

Now, many elderly people are fearing for their safety, especially as many people have panic bought essential goods.

This 103-year-old Chinese grandma recovered from the coronavirus:

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Taking to Twitter to recount her story of compassion, Rebecca Mehra, explained that an elderly woman yelled at her from her car at a grocery store yesterday afternoon.

"I went to the grocery store this afternoon. As I was walking in I heard a woman yell to me from her car," Mehra wrote. "I walked over and found an elderly woman and her husband. She cracked her window open a bit more, and explained to me nearly in tears that they are afraid to go in the store."

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She continued: "Afraid to get sick as they are in their 80's and hear that the novel coronavirus is affecting older people disproportionately. And that they don't have family around to help them out. Through the crack in the window, she handed me a $100 bill and a grocery list, and asked if I would be willing to buy her groceries."

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Mehera then explained that she happily helped the elderly couple out.

"I bought the groceries and placed them in her trunk, and gave her back the change," Mehera wrote. "She told me she had been sitting in the car for nearly 45 min before I had arrived, waiting to ask the right person for help."

She concluded her viral Twitter thread by writing: "I know it's a time of hysteria and nerves, but offer to help anyone you can. Not everyone has people to turn to."

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Needless to say, Mehera's actions resonated with a lot of people on the social media website.

One Twitter wrote: "Kindness matters. We all get by with the help and support of our neighbors. Let's look out for each other. It's rough out there."

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This man wiped his salvia on a subway train during the coronavirus outbreak:

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Another remarked: "This warmed my heart and also hurt my heart. Thank you for being so wonderful to them."

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Meanwhile, a third wrote: "Thank you for being the kind soul this couple needed today!"

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These are the current CDC recommended steps that you should take if you think you have contracted coronavirus.

In a report from the World Health Organization on Wednesday, they declared that the COVID-19 outbreak is now being officially recognized as a pandemic:

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death."

As per the WorldOMeter dashboard, at the time of writing, there have now been 138,156 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 132 countries, and 5,080 people have lost their lives.

Woman's viral coronavirus tweet reminds us to be compassionate to the elderly