Michael Che is stepping up to help some of those who are less fortunate during the coronavirus pandemic. The Saturday Night Live star announced this week that he will be paying one month’s rent for 160 apartments at the public housing building his late-grandmother used to live in.
“It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t even work,” Che wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Obviously, I can’t offer much help by myself, but in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building she lived in.
“I know that’s just a drop in the bucket, so I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing, at the very least.”
Che also mentioned New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Diddy to help ask for their help finding a solution for the current situation that has led to all non-essential businesses in the state being closed.
New York has seen more than 213,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 11,500 deaths.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 28,500 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
