Shane Warne's gin company ends production to help combat coronavirus

The legendary Australia spinner's distillery has turned their attention to manufacturing sanitiser to assist in stemming the spread

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Legendary former Australia spinner Shane Warne has lent his hand to the effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The gin distillery owned by the 50-year-old, who took 708 wickets during his Test career, has closed down production of the spirit.

Instead, they will manufacturer sanitiser for use in two unnamed hospitals in Western Australia.

SevenZeroEight Gin will produce 70 per cent alcohol hand sanitiser until further notice but will continue online sales of its main product.

"This is a challenging time for Australians and we all need to do what we can to help our healthcare system combat this disease and save lives," said Warne, who founded the distillery last year.

So proud of all the team @708gin as this is awesome ! I’m so glad we could do this and help everyone ! Choose helping followers. Love you all ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xuNJoR1Pam

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 19, 2020

"I am happy SevenZeroEight has the ability to make this shift and encourage others to do the same."

The move comes after Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison called upon businesses to help the effort to quell the spread of the disease.

Financial packages have been offered to factories who are willing to make medical supplies.

At the time of writing, there are 709 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, with six total deaths.