Coronavirus Sucks!

Hey, y’all.  Yeah, I’m still here.  I haven’t forgotten about any of you.  I’m sorry I haven’t been posting articles as frequently as I did before.  As I said in my Power Top 20 post, 2020 is a very trying year, but I doubt that’s news to y’all.

Right now, the entire world is being devastated by Coronavirus aka COVID-19.  This virus has impacted so many aspects of our lives in such a short amount of time, I feel like I’m in a sci-fi flick.  Everyone is quarantined in their homes, food and household necessities are scarce (try going to the store to buy hamburger meat, toilet tissue, a bottle of rubbing alcohol and bleach all at once…you’ll get your feelings hurt), the economy is plummeting, and so far the virus isn’t showing any signs of slowing up.  I’m sure that’s mostly due to the “COVIDIOTS” that refuse to follow CDC guidelines regarding social distancing.

What’s even worse is that we’ve lost so many people to this horrible illness.  According to Google, in the United States alone, the cases have reached 188,713, surpassing China and Italy.  Out of that number, 3,896 have died, including chef Floyd Cardoz and songwriter Alan Merrill.  In my beloved state of South Carolina, the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate.  The first two cases in South Carolina were reported on Mar. 6, 2020.  As of today, there are approximately 1,083 positive cases with 22 deaths.  I find myself constantly sanitizing everything and worrying about my mother’s health and safety.  Not only that, but whenever my throat itches or I get wheezy, I inwardly freak out.  Then I remember that it’s spring and my asthma and allergies always get the best of me this time of year.  I miss not being paranoid every time I cough or sneeze.  I also long for the days I could scratch my face in public if it itched and buy toilet paper as long as I had the money to do so.

Of course, this virus has also greatly affected the world of entertainment.  I know that’s the last thing on most folks’ minds, but since I’m running an entertainment blog, I feel it’s only right that I mention it.  So far, the following have all been either postponed, canceled, or will take place in closed arenas:

• Essence Festival of Culture moved to an undisclosed date in the fall
• Coachella will now take place on Oct. 9-11 and 16-18
• 2020 Summer Olympics is postponed until July 23, 2021
• Wrestlemania 36 will air on Apr. 4-5 in an empty arena
• The NBA has completely suspended the 2020 season
• The 2020 Major League Baseball season is delayed
• NCAA March Madness is canceled
• US Soccer canceled matched in Mar. and Apr. 2020; other international teams have also suspended matches
• SXSW is canceled
• The 2020 Met Gala is postponed; new date is to be announced
• Broadway plays have shut down
• The Boston Marathon will now take place on Sept. 14
• Formula 1’s 2020 season is canceled; NASCAR postponed racing events at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway

That’s just a few examples.  Personally, I’m really upset about the Essence Festival.  It was supposed to take place on Jul. 3rd, my birthday.  Plus, Bruno Mars was supposed to perform, and the festival was going to be in New Orleans, one of the many cities I’ve always wanted to visit, but never had the chance.

There were also movies I was geared up to see this year that’ve been postponed.  Some examples are A Quiet Place Part II, Wonder Woman 1984, Black Widow, and No Time to Die.  All my loyal readers out there should know I was psyched to see No Time to Die, considering a certain someone played the villain in the new James Bond flick.  Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until doggone November to see my boy be bad.

Other films were postponed as well, such as F9 (Fast and Furious 9), Mulan, The New Mutants and Spiral (the Saw spinoff starring Chris Rock).  To top it all off, many movie theatres around the world have shut down, as well as film and TV productions.  This has lasting ramifications for people that write and/or film movie reviews.  Some of my favorite YouTubers like Jeremy Jahns, Chris Stuckman and Double Toasted now have to rely on doing reviews for older films, video games or movies/TV shows featured on streaming services.  I don’t do a ton of movie reviews here on my blog, but regardless, I’m limited to only reviewing TV shows and Netflix films for the present.  To be honest, that’s fine for me, seeing as there’s a plethora of good stuff out there.  In fact, I already have one review lined up.  Stay tuned.

Last but not least, there’s all the celebrities getting infected.  Yes, I realize it’s not the same as a friend or loved one catching COVID-19, but let’s be honest, it still affects the majority of us.  Through the years, the people are in our homes one way or the other, and when something happens to your favorite celeb, it still hits home.  I was heartbroken when I found out that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were infected, and even more so when I learned about Idris Elba’s diagnosis.  Some of the other celebs that’ve been stricken with Coronavirus are Daniel Dae-Kim, Andy Cohen, Debi Mazar, Jackson Browne, Slim Thug, and Kristofer Hivju (Tormund from Game of Thrones).  Thankfully, reports are coming out that Tom and Rita are recovering, so that news provides some silver lining over the dark cloud that is 2020.

Allow me to repeat the blog post title:  Coronavirus sucks.  I’m hoping and praying that we as a people get through this time.  I know y’all have heard this before, but I’m going to say it again, because it bears repeating:  Please, please, please wash your hands.  Keep your hands clean.  When you go out in public, be mindful when it comes to touching your face, eyes, ears, nose and mouth.  As much as it sucks, you have to practice social distancing.  It’s only temporary, and think of it this way:  if you distance yourself now, you won’t have to be stuck in the house as long, because the curve will flatten.  STAY HOME.  Don’t go out unless you need food or supplies, and don’t buy the entire store all at once.  Stock up, but be mindful of other people that need things.  I know things look bleak right now, but just try to remember that we will get through this.  God’s got us.

Stay safe, everyone.

—Written by Nadiya