In recent days, a few celebrities have come under fire for spreading what is legitimately dangerous messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, a few days ago Marvel Cinematic Universe star Evangeline Lilly announced that she would not be practicing safe social distancing because "some people value freedom over their lives." The statement has resulted in the actress receiving criticism from a number of sources, but one of the loudest voices to emerge in the backlash belongs to Dark Phoenix/Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner:
Staying in contact with her fans while also staying at home, Sophie Turner recently hosted a live broadcast on her personal Instagram account, and while she never mentioned Evangeline Lilly by name, it's very clear that she is directly responding to the Ant-Man star's comments from this past week. The seriousness of Turner's message is a tad undercut by the filter being used, which strangely morphs her face, but her intent still hits home.
Feeling very little urge to censor herself, Sophie Turner spilled the proverbial tea, saying,
Stay inside. Don't be fucking stupid. Even if you count your freedom over... I don't know. What is it, like your health? I don't give a F about your freedom. You could be infecting other people, other vulnerable people around you by doing this. So stay inside, guys. It's not cool, and it's not big, and it's not clever. And that's the tea.
Based on the facts that we know about COVID-19, Sophie Turner makes some very important points. Limiting the amount of time you spend outside the house and around other people has absolutely nothing to do with a person's individual health, but instead everything to do with stopping the spread of the disease. An infected person may not start showing symptoms until as much as two weeks after catching the virus, and by being out in public that person can easily transmit the sickness to others without even knowing. This means that those with healthy immune systems who are less prone to the serious risks of the novel Coronavirus can spread the contagion to more at-risk individuals – and when that happens, people die.
What's more, the less concern there is about the spread of COVID-19 the more dangerous it becomes. The faster a disease spreads, the more risk there is of hospitals being totally overwhelmed and ultimately unable to help anybody. Slowing down the spread is absolutely imperative when it comes to stopping the pandemic, and the way individuals can help is simply by self-isolating as much as possible.
Is it easy? No. Will it get easier? Probably not. There is only so much entertainment that can be found in the average household, and cabin fever is a widely recognized condition. However, we can all do our part to help shorten the amount of time that self-isolation is necessary, and if we stay strong, hopefully this dark period will pass quickly.
