Soros gives Budapest EUR 1 mln to fight COVID-19

Photo by Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com

"The COVID-19 pandemic knows no boundaries, not between countries, communities, religions or people," Soros says. "Anyone can become infected, but some of us are more vulnerable than others. I think of the elderly, who sometimes live in very close quarters in homes for the aged; and of the homeless, whose ranks are growing as so many become suddenly unemployed and lose even the fragile safety of workers’ hostels."

The billionaire argues that cities and local governments face daunting tasks during the coronavirus emergency as they run a number of institutions, where the most vulnerable try to find refuge, but often lack adequate funds to provide help.

"I was born in Budapest, in the middle of the Great Depression, barely a decade after the Spanish Flu left thousands of dead in Budapest. I lived through World War II, the Arrow Cross rule, and the siege in the city. I remember what it is like to live in extreme circumstances. For these reasons, the organization I founded, the Open Society Foundations, will contribute 1 million euros to aid the city of Budapest in solidarity with the people of my birthplace in the midst of this unprecedented emergency," Soros adds.