The deadly spread of coronavirus has caused most countries to realize the danger at hand and the potential threat it poses to our people. Entire nations are in lockdown, especially after watching the situation in Italy, Iran, and China, while authorities and health officials try to contain COVID-19. For the citizens, social distancing and self-isolation are the keys to fight this viral menace, among other hygiene tips (as advised by WHO).
Celebrities around the world have taken to their social media to advise people to stay indoors and help other people by not coming in contact with them. However, some celebs have taken a different stand and refused to abide by these guidelines. Evangeline Lilly, the Canadian actress popular for Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, posted on Instagram last week. She stated that her family was doing things as usual, and not self-isolating. This didn’t go down well with Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), who has been asking people to stay safe and not “f*ck around”.
Sophie took to Instagram live and offered her opinion straight up without taking any names. “Here’s the tea. 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 ffffff… 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!”
Amidst rising voices that are urging people to not go out without an urgent purpose, Lilly had put out a post on Instagram with a picture of a cup of tea. The caption started off with a hashtag, “#morningtea” and further read, “Just dropped my kids off at gymnastics camp. They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing.” She ended the post with another hashtag, “#businessasusual”. This was met with a lot of criticism online. The actress was called “irresponsible” and “ignorant” while some said that this is “not acceptable”.
The Lost actress had also responded to a few of the comments, defending her stance. “Where we are right now feels a lot too close to Marshall Law for my comfort already, all in the name of a respiratory flu,” she said. Lilly’s comment also revealed that she feels people should be careful during these times so that the authorities don’t grab more power and curb people’s freedoms. She went on to say, “I am also immune-compromised at the moment. I have two young kids. Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make our choices.”
While we totally respect everyone’s freedom of expression, desperate times call for desperate measures. In this case, one person’s freedom could cost someone else’s life. When all across the world, people are trying to fight this pandemic by staying away from each other, we need to practice restraint and ride out this storm together. The virus is here to stay and all we can do right now is prolong the period of infection so that the healthcare system doesn’t have to deal with a huge influx of critical cases all at once.
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