New Delhi: Bollywood star Varun Dhawan on Saturday joined an initiative to help procure and donate oxygen concentrators to hospitals amid the raging second wave of COVID-19.
After extending his support last year through various initiatives, the actor has now contributed to help fund the requirement across the country through this new move.
He took to his Instagram handle and shared a statement revealing that the first shipment has already reached India and has been deployed at 14 hospitals.
The statement read, “During uncertain times like these, our healthcare system needs utmost help. Since we know that oxygen is the need of the hour, I have contributed and partnered with @MissionOxygenIndia in their initiative to procure and donate lifesaving oxygen concentrators to hospitals across the country.”
It further continued, “As a group of 30 something individuals who have managed to step up for the country in this time of need and raise over Rs 21 crores for the procurement of 3,900 OCs in under a week. I resonate deeply with their cause and urge everyone to help in whatever capacity possible.” “The first shipment of oxygen concentrators arrived in the country and they have already been allocated across 14 hospitals,” the statement concluded.
The second wave of coronavirus has infected many people, and the number of COVID-19 positive cases has been rapidly rising.
A total of 4,01,993 fresh COVID-19 cases were recorded taking the cumulative count of the cases to 1,91,64,969, the Union Health Ministry reported on Saturday.
With 3,523 people succumbing to the infection in the last 24 hours, the death toll has mounted to 2,11,853. Currently, there are 32,68,710 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Recently, Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar donated 100 oxygen concentrators, doing their bit in the fight against COVID-19. Suniel Shetty also joined an initiative to donate free oxygen concentrators to the homes of BPL individuals and families.
Apart from them, Ayushmann Khurrana and his wife Tahira Kashyap came forward to contribute to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Relief Fund to help aid people crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Salman Khan also came forward and restarted his food trucks to distribute food packets among the frontline workers in Mumbai.
Amid the surge in cases, many stars like Katrina Kaif, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Mira Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, among others have been using social media to amplify the voices of those in need.