Liberal billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros has earmarked more than $130 million from his Open Society Foundations to aid vulnerable communities around the world hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The funds include $37 million to support workers and their families across New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak and home to Open Society's largest office, according to an announcement.
The package also will contribute $12 million to emergency relief for vulnerable workers in other cities and states, and $2.5 million for additional community efforts in Baltimore, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Also, almost $42 million will be directed to the foundation's global partners to support low-income workers, protect refugees and provide access to new vaccines and treatments.
The funds breakdown also includes $9 million to end the use of "excessive" mandatory imprisonment and detention around the world, $3 million to local groups countering disinformation in Europe, and $3.5 million for southern Africa to support emergency services and care work.
"The scale of this pandemic has laid bare the fault lines and injustices of our world," Soros said in a statement with the announcement.
"We missed the opportunity to create a more just economy after the financial crisis of 2008 and provide a social safety net for the workers who are the heart of our societies," he added. "Today, we must change direction and ask ourselves: What kind of world will emerge from this catastrophe, and what can we do to make it a better one?"
There are more than 2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 140,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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