“Let’s spread the word, not the virus,” wrote Ryan Reynolds on social media.
Earlier this week, Justin Trudeau made a plea to Canadian citizens to stay home in self-isolation, as that has proven the best measure to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, warned the country that “we don’t just need to flatten the curve, we need to plank it.”
Trudeau reiterated Tam’s advice in a #PlankTheCurve video shared on social media, encouraging people to “stay home” and “help spread the word with your own video.”
“Tag your friends to remind them to stay home too,” he wrote, tagging actor Ryan Reynolds and singer Michael Bublé to take the message forward with the hashtag #StayAtHomeSaveLives.
“We need to work together to flatten the curve and fight COVID-19,” said Reynolds in a video shared to Twitter and Instagram on Monday. “Let’s spread the word, not the virus,” he wrote in the caption, tagging actor Seth Rogen, musician Steven Page and Terry Reynolds of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to take the message forward. Bublé, meanwhile, nominated singer/songrwriter Jann Arden, singer Justin Bieber and ice hockey player Connor McDavid.
A heavily-bearded Rogen then shared a video of his own, imploring Canadians to help #PlankTheCurve. “Stay inside. Wash your hands. Just don’t leave the house,” he said. “There are worse things you could be asked to do.” He then tagged comedian and talk show host Lilly Singh, actor/comedian Jay Baruchel and singer Shawn Mendes to continue spreading the word. Mendes, in turn, passed the baton on to Drake and Shania Twain.
From Twain, the message has spread onward to Celine Dion, Jim Carrey and Avril Lavigne. Take a leaf from these celebs’ books and help spread the message to #PlankTheCurve among your own friends and family group chats and email chains. It’s the only way to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and lessen the burden on our healthcare system. As Mendes said, “The quicker everybody realizes how serious this is, the quicker we can all go back to our normal lives.”