Michelle Hunziker: She collects a million euros for a hospital in Bergamo

The Corona crisis has a firm grip on northern Italy – especially the city of Bergamo, where countless people have already died. Moderator Michelle Hunziker (43), who lives there with her family, is also directly affected. In order to support the local clinic, she has now raised a lot of money.

"Together with my husband Tomaso, I have raised money for the respiratory equipment and additional beds for the Bergamo hospital and have already raised € 1.2 million," explains the Swiss-Italian of the "Bild am Sonntag". "We now have so many sick people that our health system can no longer cope with this need. Of course, many people need financial support for this. They can no longer pursue their profession and cannot simply compensate for this loss of income," she explains her commitment.

Life with the absolute curfew

Hunziker and her family have been stuck in the Lombardy town since March 5. "The current situation in Bergamo is really bad, but we are all trying to deal with the situation as best as possible. We still have an absolute curfew. So you can only go shopping as an individual and the number of people inside the supermarket is closely monitored, "says Hunziker.

If she drives a special permit once a week to record her TV program, she is "usually stopped three times on the way by the police," said Hunziker. And she is now personally affected by the illnesses and deaths. A good friend and colleague (63) of her is currently in the intensive care unit, his mother (84) has died of the coronavirus. "We also have a lot of friends in Bergamo who have lost their parents and are devastated."

The quarantine community

Michelle Hunziker and husband (since 2013) Tomaso Trussardi (36) have been living with their two daughters, Sole (6) and Celeste (5), as well as Hunziker's daughter from their first marriage, Aurora Ramazzotti (23), since the curfew began. The quarantine community also includes Aurora's boyfriend, Goffredo, and a girlfriend.