Hrithik Roshan, Will Smith, Shawn Mendes and more contribute to Covid-19 relief funds for India
Hrithik Roshan has donated $15,000 towards Jay Shetty's fundraiser for relief activities in India, joining Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello and other stars.
Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan is the latest star to have come forward to help India fight against the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The War actor has donated $15,000 (approximately ₹11.10 lakh) towards a fundraiser started by international author and podcaster Jay Shetty.
Jay has started the fundraiser, Help India Breathe, with the intention of raising $1 million to help India procure resources to fight against the coronavirus. Taking to Instagram, Jay revealed that Hrithik joined international stars Will and Jada Smith, Ellen DeGeneres, Brendon Burchard, and Camila Cabello, among others, to contribute towards the fund. The Smith family donated $50,000, Ellen contributed $59,000 and Shawn and Camila individually donated $50,000 and $6000, respectively.
India has been grappling with a shortage of medical supplies. India on Monday reported 3,68,147 new cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the preceding 24 hours, pushing the country's total infection tally close to 20 million cases. The country's cumulative case count has now reached 19,925,604, according to the Union health ministry's dashboard at 9:15 am.
Several Bollywood stars have come forward to dedicate their social media account to amplify resources, including finding hospital beds and oxygen supplies. These include Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Alia Bhatt, and others. Sonu Sood has been involved in relief efforts since the beginning of the pandemic.
Priyanka Chopra recently established a fundraiser with Give India. Sharing videos and posts on social media, she urged fans to donate to the fundraiser which would help Indians receive essential medical supplies. Sharing an emotional video from London, she wrote, "India, my home, is suffering the world's worst Covid crisis, and we all need to help! People are dying in record numbers. There is illness everywhere, and it's only continuing to spread and kill at great speed and scale."
"Your donation will go directly to healthcare physical infrastructure (including Covid care centres, isolation centres, and oxygen generation plants), medical equipment, and vaccine support and mobilisation," she revealed.