Djokovic donates 40,000 euros to COVID-19-hit town in Serbia

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Tennis world no. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic is trying to give back to his country after a disastrous Adria Tour tennis exhibition last week.

The Serbian donated 40,000 euros ($45,000) to Novi Pazar, a local town located in Southwestern Serbia and is currently fighting the fast-growing outbreak of COVID-19.

With the fast spread of the virus, the local government in Novi Pazar declared a state of emergency in late June.

After a more relaxed number of positive cases last May, Serbia surged to more than 200 cases daily compared to their average of 50 per month.

Also, the Balkan Nation was under fire after they allowed Djokovic to hold his tennis exhibition matches which later resulted in some of its participants testing positive for COVID-19.

Djokovic, his coach Goran Ivanisevic, Grigor Dimitrov, and Borna Coric were some of those who tested positive after the exhibition tour.

The COVID-19 crisis in Serbia already caused a total of 281 deaths with an estimated 15,000 cases reported.