The NBA might be on a forced break but Bismack Biyombo is not resting on his laurels, with the Charlotte Hornets forward donating $1 million worth of supplies to his native DR Congo as it confronts the deadly COVID-19 epidemic.
The supplies, donated through the NBA star’s The Bismack Biyombo Foundation, includes surgical masks and hazardous materials suits.
The DRC had 267 confirmed cases and 27 deaths from the COVID-19 outbreak on April 16, with local transmission of the disease reported.
With the emergence of COVID-19 in the central African country, DR Congo is now fighting a battle on two fronts, with 2,266 deaths and 3,456 Ebola infections as of April 12, 2020, ever since it suffered from the world’s worst recorded outbreak of the deadly virus in 2018.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also faced a significant challenge, as it ran short of at least $83 million to contain the Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
“We have never experienced a crisis of this magnitude. Seeing my home country suffer in this capacity is devastating,” said Biyombo announcing his donation.
“I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to figure out a way to help those suffering in the DRC. I am pleased to announce that The Bismack Biyombo Foundation delivered over 10,000 masks and 780 hazmat suits to the DRC this week.
“Thank you to all of those who are at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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