COVID-19: Sachin Tendulkar donates Rs. 1 crore for oxygen supplies
Veteran cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, on Thursday, donated Rs. 1 crore to help procure oxygen concentrators for COVID-19 patients in India. Tendulkar informed about the development on Twitter, stating that he is contributing to 'Mission Oxygen', a group of young entrepreneurs in Delhi-NCR. Mission Oxygen said in a statement that Tendulkar's contribution was heart-warming. Here are further details.
Heartening to see how people are rising to occasion: Tendulkar
"The second wave of COVID has put our health-care system under immense pressure. Providing oxygen for a large number of serious COVID patients is the need of the hour," Tendulkar wrote. "It's heartening to see how people are rising to the occasion. A group of 250+ young entrepreneurs have launched Mission Oxygen to raise funds for importing oxygen concentrators and donating them to hospitals."
'Tendulkar's efforts in the time of need heart-warming'
"His donation of Rs. 1 crore to 'Mission Oxygen' in its endeavor to procure and provide life-saving oxygen concentrators to hospitals across the nation in this time of need is incredibly heart-warming," read a statement from Mission Oxygen.
Here is what Tendulkar wrote on Twitter
Pat Cummins, Brett Lee contributed earlier this week
Earlier this week, Australian cricketer Pat Cummins contributed $50,000 to the PM CARES Fund in the fight against COVID-19. The 27-year-old, who is featuring in the Indian Premier League, announced that his donation is aimed at increasing oxygen supplies for India's hospitals. Former Australian speedster Brett Lee also decided to donate one bitcoin (approximately Rs. 40 lakh) as another kind gesture.
Other franchises and players who have offered help
IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals have contributed Rs. 7.5 crore and 1.5. crore respectively for the fight against the pandemic. In the latest development, Caribbean star Nicholas Pooran has decided to donate a portion of his IPL salary to help India recover from the pandemic. He revealed the same in his tweet while stating that he is praying for the people.
India continues to suffer with severe health crisis
India has been gripped by a dreadful second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic of late. On Thursday, the nation reported 3.86 lakh fresh infections, the highest-ever one-day surge. As many as 3,498 more fatalities took the death toll past 2.08 lakh.