Dolly Parton donates $1.4mil to coronavirus cure research, believes pandemic is a 'lesson' from God

Dolly Parton is donating $1 million (S$1.4 million) toward coronavirus cure research.

The 74-year-old country icon has announced she is making a sizeable donation toward Vanderbilt's ongoing research into a cure for coronavirus - which is also known as Covid-19 - as the respiratory illness continues to spread across the globe and claim the lives of thousands.

In tweets posted on Wednesday (April 1), Dolly wrote: "My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who's been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure.

"I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations. (sic)"

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The charitable donation comes after the 9 to 5 hitmaker recently said she believes the coronavirus pandemic - which as of the time of writing has infected more than 924,000 people, and killed over 46,000 - is a "lesson" from God.

In an Instagram video, she sang: "Well hello it's Dolly, climbing the stairway to heaven, because the virus has scared the h-e-l-l out of us."

She then laughed: "I'm not making light of the situation. Well, maybe I am, because it's the light, I believe that's gonna dissolve the situation.

"I think God is in this, I really do. I think he's trying to hold us up to the light so we can see ourselves and see each other through the eyes of love. And I hope we learn that lesson."

And Dolly also assured fans people will be in a "better" place once the current situation is over.

She added: "I think that when this passes, we're gonna all be better people. I know that I have a positive attitude about it, as negative as it seems to be right now. So just keep the faith, don't be too scared, it's gonna be alright, God loves us."

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For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.