J’cans warned not to take coronavirus lightly

As global coronavirus cases surpassed the one million mark yesterday - the number of recorded cases in Jamaica at 47 as at press time - members of the entertainment fraternity have joined the fight, using their influence to encourage persons to continue taking the necessary precautions in protecting themselves and to adhere to the restrictions implemented by the Government.

Bounty Killer, real name Rodney Price, in a post on Instagram, warned individuals not to take the pandemic lightly.

"My fellow Jamaicans, prayers go out to us all in this time of crisis, as we all know it's scary, frustrating and devastating ... but we all got to be smart to fight this virus. It ain't no joke ... isolated and bored is the way of staying safe and alive ... we are alone in this together," he urged.

Dancehall artiste Oneil Bryan, more popularly known as Elephant Man, who was under house quarantine for 14 days, said that he was re-adjusting to his new reality of not being able to travel, party, and interact with people like he used to.

"The virus a nuh joke ting so take precaution and take care of the people around you. Mi dey home a write some songs, staying positive and following what's happening in the world. We also a stay fit, exercising to keep the body in shape, drink up nuff Vitamin C and find new ways of entertaining yourself at yuh yard, like cooking food," Elephant Man said.

CHARGED

Elephant Man was, on March 23, charged with breaches of the Immigration Act after allegedly failing to declare that he travelled to Germany, one of many countries hit hard by COVID-19.

Disc jocks Kurt Riley and DJ Nicco, who have been playing their part in keeping fans entertained online, also had some words of encouragement for their fellow Jamaicans.

"I'm just asking everybody to be safe, the word is out, keep your hands clean ... This is how we should have been living from day one. Memba dem sey cleanliness is next to Godliness, so this method is nothing new, it's just that we hardly practise it. Suh mi a beg everybody to just do what you need to do to be safe. Also, our prime minister has put measures in place to try his best to keep us safe, suh mi a beg di I dem fi jus work wid him. Stay safe, stay inside, and practise social distancing," said Riley.

And for DJ Nicco, "There is not much that I can say in this time aside from, be safe, and in order to do that, just stay at home. And the social distance, just keep logged on, follow what's happening in the world and everything will in time ... I guess this will pass and we can get back to our regular life. But until then, protect people by staying inside - you protect yourself and you protect them. If the virus can't spread, it will die out, so that's what we need to do right now."