Arsenal to provide free meals to aid fight against COVID-19

England's football club Arsenal on Friday announced that it will be providing more than 30,000 free meals as well as personal hygiene products to people in need in the local community to aid the fight against coronavirus pandemic.

The club will also be donating 100,000 pounds to local orgsations and additional 50,000 pounds will be given towards a COVID-19 crisis fund.

"Working with Islington Council as part of the borough's emergency response plan, the donation will provide more than 30,000 free meals, as well as essential items such as stary and personal hygiene products to those most vulnerable in the local community," the club said in an official statement.

"This initiative forms part of our wider community response to COVID-19, which has seen Arsenal in the Community staff volunteer to transport frontline NHS workers. The Arsenal Foundation has also pledged £100k to local orgsations and redirected a further £50k of partnership funding with Islington Giving towards their COVID-19 Crisis Fund," it added.

Earlier this year, Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta had become the first high-profile name in the football world to test positive for COVID-19.

The number of coronavirus cases in Britain has surged past 65,000 and the death toll stands at 7,978.

The World Health Orgsation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

( With inputs from ANI )