The national cricketers of Bangladesh have decided to donate half of their monthly paycheck to in order to fight the coronavirus epidemic.
Among the 27 players donating their salaries, 17 are in the Bangladesh Cricket Board contracts while 10 have played for the national team.
In a joint statement on social media, the players said:
"The whole world is fighting against coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak of coronavirus is also increasing in Bangladesh. We, the cricketers, are trying to aware people in social media to take necessary steps to prevent this pandemic . But we believe we have many more things to do rather than just increasing awareness among people. 17 players, who are in the central contract of BCB, and 10 other players who took part in recent series for national team; in total we are 27 cricketers giving half of our monthly salaries to help against coronavirus. After excluding the tax the amount might be approximately 25 lakh around. May be this fund is not that much compare to the fight against coronavirus. But if we all together can contribute from our own position, then in combined, it might be a bigger step to fight against coronavirus. If we can take the responsibilities and try to make contribution wholeheartedly rather than criticizing others, then we can win the war against coronavirus. Everyone please stay home, stay safe. Be well and keep our country safe."
The players are still in discussion with the BCB about where the donation should be given as no government fund has officially been formed yet,
Meanwhile, Bangladesh reported another death from COVID-19, raising the death toll to five.
According to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)the number of total infected people as of Wednesday (Mar 25) was 39.
Earlier on Tuesday, the government suspended domestic flights, public road transport, launch vessels, and trains amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, the government declared a 10-day shutdown, effective from March 26 to April 4, to battle the spread of the coronavirus.
Both the private and public sectors, except emergency services, would come to a temporary halt.
Educational institutions will stay closed during this period but banks will remain open to facilitate the financial transaction for their clients.
At the same time, Bangladesh’s armed forces were deployed to assist the administration in every divisional and district town to ensure that people maintain social distance and are taking precautionary measures to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading further.
Covid-19, a new strain of coronavirus, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan has killed at least 16,558 people across the world and infected 381,649 till date.
At least 102,429 people have recovered from the virus which has spread to 195 countries.