Madonna says she's lost her cousin and two friends to coronavirus

Madonna has posted a video of her reading from her quarantine diary in which she reveals that she’s lost a family member and two friends to the coronavirus.

The singer, sat behind a typerwriter, begins the clip by saying: “We can’t always have a good day”.

…………… #quarantine #covid19 #stayhome #staysafe #ncrfilms pic.twitter.com/FYlrhPmyhu

— Madonna (@Madonna) April 9, 2020

She says later in the video, which was shared on Thursday (April 9): “In the last 24 hours my cousin has died, my security guard’s brother has died, and Orlando Puerta, a very important person who played a very important role in my life in terms of getting my remixes to chart on the dance charts, [which was] in large part due to Orlando’s passion and commitment to my music.”

Last week, Madonna donated $1million to help fund research into creating a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Individually and globally we are obviously living in a state of emergency, I must admit it took me time to accept and process and modify my own lifestyle…” she wrote.

“I’m joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation effort to find a drug that will prevent or treat Covid-19. We need this to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families.”

Her donation came amid a slew of contributions from other celebrities. These include Rihanna, who has given $2.1 million (£1.67M) to help victims of domestic violence affected by the ongoing lockdowns as well as $5million in aid to help alleviate the effects of the pandemic.

Taylor Swift, too, has been digging deep to help. She gave a fan whose business was adversely affected by the pandemic $3,000 and donated thousands of dollars to a Nashville record shop.