Giorgio Armani Makes Donation to Fight Coronavirus in Italy
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MILAN — Giorgio Armani has donated 1.25 million euros to a range of Italian hospitals and institutions involved in fighting the coronavirus spread in the country.
The Luigi Sacco and San Raffaele hospitals and the Istituto dei Tumori in Milan as well as the Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome will benefit from the donation. The amount will additionally support the activities of Protezione Civile, the country’s civil defense.
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The announcement was made on Sunday night, after the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Italy climbed to 7,375, while in the last 24 hours 133 people have died from the virus.
As reported, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte issued a decree overnight Saturday banning movements within and outside Lombardy and 14 provinces in the regions of Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont and Marche until April 3. The measure intends to contain the risks of contagion and prevent hospitals from collapsing under the demand of the increasing number of citizens with severe respiratory problems.
A number of other luxury companies have made donations to fight the COVID-19 crisis both in Italy and in China.
Last month, Bulgari made a donation to the research department of the Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome, one of the first medical teams to isolate the DNA of the deadly disease. The donation allowed the hospital, which specializes in infectious diseases, to purchase a microscopic image acquisition system, essential to advance the research that will lead to the prevention and treatment of the virus. The machine is valued at around 100,000 euros.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana decided to support the research led by professors Alberto Mantovani and Cecilia Garlanda of the Humanitas University investigating possible solutions to fight the virus and conducted in collaboration with virologists Elisa Vincenzi and Massimo Clementi of the San Raffaele University. Both institutes are based in the Milan area.
Versace donated 1 million renminbi, or $143,400, to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to alleviate the shortage of medical supplies in the country.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton pledged 16 million renminbi, or $2.3 million, to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to help alleviate the urgent medical supplies shortage in Wuhan. In addition, the luxury conglomerate said it would help to obtain and provide important medical supplies from France and throughout Europe via the foundation.
Kering also made a 7.5 million renminbi, or $1.08 million, donation on behalf of its 13 fashion and luxury brands to the Hubei Red Cross Foundation.
Alibaba set up a 1 billion renminbi, or $144 million, fund, while Tencent, the owner of WeChat, has donated 300 million renminbi, or $43.25 million.
Adrian Cheng, chief executive officer of Hong Kong New World Development, executive director of jewelry company Chow Tai Fook and founder of K11 Group and C Ventures, supported the fight against the virus outbreak in Hong Kong setting up a production of masks to distribute for free to families in need, as well as investing 10 million Hong Kong dollars in nanotechnology applications.
Other businesses donating for the cause include beauty companies L’Oréal; the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. and Shiseido Co. Ltd., as well as jewelry brand Swarovski.
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