Celebrities are Catching Coronavirus. Will You Be Next?
- Americans are finally taking coronavirus seriously as the deadly disease strikes down several well-known celebrities and politicians.
- Actor Tom Hanks, NBA Star Rudy Gobert and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife have all fallen ill with the deadly infection.
- With the virus spreading rapidly around the world, some scientists predict that most of America’s population may eventually catch the bug.
Coronavirus is sweeping the world, and everyone is fair game.
The virus is not discriminating between the rich and the poor — or the famous and everyone else. As several celebrities fall ill with the novel disease, many Americans are coming to grips with the terrifying reality that they could be next.
Several scientists are now estimating that, when it’s all said and done, the coronavirus pandemic could eventually infect 60-70% of the United States’ population. At current death rates, this could potentially lead to millions of fatalities — especially if healthcare systems become overloaded.
Coronavirus is Now a Global Pandemic
The coronavirus has spilled out of Wuhan, China and now threatens the entire world. The global caseload of the disease now stands at over 137,000 people with 5,088 fatalities.
Europe has become a major hot spot for the virus. The five hardest-hit countries are as follows:
- China: 80,945 cases
- Italy: 15,113 cases
- Iran: 11,364 cases
- South Korea: 7,979 cases
- Spain: 4,334 cases
The United States, despite its large population, currently lags the rest of the developed world in coronavirus infections. This may be because American authorities aren’t testing as widely as other countries.
So far, American authorities have only tested 4,000 to 10,000 people and confirmed 1,268 cases while authorities in South Korea are testing 15,000 people a day and have confirmed almost 8,000 cases.
Despite America’s low testing rate, people are finally coming to grips with the severity of the situation as celebrities begin to come down with the illness.
Celebrities Are Catching the Bug
Tom Hanks, an actor who some consider the most popular in the world, has tested positive for the coronavirus. This is after he and his wife fell ill and were screened for the disease in Sydney, Australia.
For many Americans, this was the “things just got real” moment where coronavirus stopped being a meme and became a real life-or-death crisis.
Kevin Fallon, a senior entertainment reporter at the Daily Beast, had this to say about the situation:
The fact is that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have tested positive, and are being hospitalized and cared for. It’s sad and egregious, yet true: It took it being them for the world to finally pay attention.
But Tom Hanks isn’t the only well-known figure who has been struck down by coronavirus.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has tested positive for the virus along with NBA star Rudy Gobert and Brazilian official Fabio Wajngarten. Weingarten has reportedly been in contact with Donald Trump potentially exposing him to the virus.
Peter Dutton, an Australian official, has also tested positive for the virus. Here he is pictured near Ivanka Trump at a Five Eyes meeting last week.
Could Ivanka Trump be the next major celeb to fall ill?
Some Scientists Predict that Most People will Get Infected
The huge number of celebrities and politicians coming ill with the novel coronavirus should come as no surprise — especially if some of the more grim predictions about the pandemic’s scope come to fruition.
Angela Merkel believes that 60-70% of Germans will catch the bug while congressional doctor Brian Monahan expects that 70-150 million Americans (roughly a third of the country) will eventually catch the disease.
With the WHO’s estimated fatality rate of 3.4%, 70 million coronaviruses infectious would result in up to 2.3 million deaths in America. With Italy’s death rate of over 6.7%, that number soars to 4.7 million.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.
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