As the coronavirus death toll rises at an alarming rate, veteran actor Jackie Chan has offered a reward of 1 million yuan (R2m) for the development of an antidote to the deadly virus that originated in China's Wuhan city.
The deadly virus was on Tuesday given the official name COVID-19.
The death toll has now soared close to 1,400 with more than 60,000 infections. .
According to The Star, Chan said that he hoped to do more besides just offering songs and cheer to the people who were affected.
“I have a 'naive' idea now. No matter which individual or organisation develops the antidote, I want to thank them with 1 million yuan.”
Chan noted that his announcement was not about money, stressing that he doesn’t want to see his people “fighting a virus until some of them are dead when they should be enjoying life”, said the publication.
In the meantime, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency.
TimesLIVE reported that the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, located in the province of Hubei, in December 2019 and has since spread to more than 25 countries.
There have been no confirmed cases reported in SA.
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