New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo singled Rihanna out on Thursday (March 26) to acknowledge the contributions she and her foundation have made in supporting the state amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. New York has been hit badly by the novel Coronavirus, reporting 10 times more confirmed cases than any other US state.
To help out, it appears that RiRi gifted the state various personal protective equipment, which includes exposure-minimizing gear like gloves, respirators, body suits, safety glasses and more.
“I want to thank [Rihanna] and the Rihanna Foundation for donating Personal Protective Equipment to New York State,” Cuomo wrote on Twitter. “We’re so appreciative of your help and that of so many others who have stepped up.”
Earlier this month, Rihanna also offered to buy $700,000 worth of ventilators for Barbados, as the island had begun reporting confirmed cases of Coronavirus. Furthermore, through her Clara Lionel Foundation, the singer donated $5 million to Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and other global organizations.
“When we first began this year, never could we have imagined how [the Coronavirus] would so dramatically alter our lives,” the foundation’s Executive Director Justine Luca shared in a statement at the time. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, this pandemic will affect us all. And for the world’s most vulnerable, the worst may be yet to come… Never has it been more important or urgent to protect and prepare marginalized and underserved communities — those who will be hit hardest by this pandemic.”
The donations reportedly went to food banks that serve high-risk communities and the elderly in the US.
In other Rihanna news, she recently made her musical return on PartyNextDoor’s PartyMobile track “Believe It,” marking her first new release since 2016’s ANTI.