Coronavirus Outbreak: Roger Federer and wife Mirka donate one million Swiss Francs to vulnerable families

Tennis great Roger Federer and his wife Mirka have donated 1 million Swiss Francs (approximately Rs 7.7 crore) to the most vulnerable families in Switzerland in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Federer, who is recovering from a knee surgery, took to Instagram to share an image with his wife alongside a caption which said that these are "challenging times" and "nobody should be left behind."

Calling their contribution as ‘just a start’, the 20-time Grand-Slam champion wrote, “We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis! Stay healthy!"

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These are challenging times for everyone and nobody should be left behind. Mirka and I have personally decided to donate one million Swiss Francs for the most vulnerable families in Switzerland. Our contribution is just a start. We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis! Stay healthy! Dies sind herausfordernde Zeiten für uns alle und niemand sollte zurückgelassen werden. Mirka und ich haben beschlossen, persönlich eine Million Schweizer Franken für die am stärksten gefährdeten Familien in der Schweiz zu spenden. Unser Beitrag ist nur ein Anfang. Wir hoffen, dass sich andere anschließen, um noch mehr bedürftige Familien zu unterstützen. Gemeinsam können wir diese Krise überwinden! Bleibt gesund! Nous vivons une période difficile pour nous tous et personne ne doit être laissé pour compte. Mirka et moi avons décidé de personnellement faire don d'un million de francs suisses aux familles les plus défavorisées en Suisse. Notre contribution n'est qu'un début. Nous espérons que d'autres se joindront à nous pour aider encore plus de familles dans le besoin. Ensemble, nous pouvons surmonter cette crise! Restez en bonne santé!

A post shared by Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) on Mar 25, 2020 at 4:33am PDT

Federer’s message comes as the coronavirus pandemic has spread to 194 nations, infecting over 4 lakh people. The death toll from COVID-19 stands at over 19,000 globally.

A few days back the tennis legend had taken to his Instagram stories section urging the public to take the coronavirus threat seriously and calling on the community to practice washing their hands and social distancing as much as possible.

During his plea, Federer was heard saying, “I’m also staying home, and I haven’t been shaking anybody’s hands for quite some time now.”