Doctor Who and Underworld actress Sophia Myles took to Twitter earlier this week to show her followers the deadly serious effects of the Coronavirus. She spent a day posting updates on her father’s condition and most distressing were pictures of him struggling to breathe through an oxygen mask while Myles comforted him. She captioned the photo:
“Yesterday I went on a journey to see my father. This is the harsh reality of the coronavirus.”
Later in the day, she posted a tragic update, explaining that he had since died:
 “RIP Peter Myles. My dear Dad died only a few hours ago. It was the coronavirus that finally took him.”
Sadly, I suspect we’ll be seeing many stories like this over the next few weeks as the true impact of the virus hits the US. While we spend a lot of time on this site discussing how the pandemic is affecting the world of entertainment, it should be remembered that delays to movies and TV shows are insignificant in comparison to the human toll of the virus. So please, follow all medical advice and remain indoors and isolated as much as you can. Remember, while you yourself may be statistically unlikely to die from Coronavirus, it’s easy to transmit it to someone who is.
With predictions for mortality rates over the next few months looking pretty grim, we’ll likely be facing a changed world by the time we emerge blinking into the light on the other side. If there is a silver lining to all this, though, perhaps a new consensus will form that we desperately need healthcare reform, that governments need to be able to intervene in crises and that individualism can only take you so far.
In the meantime, hunker down, don’t go outside and maybe catch up with Netflix or play a video game. Stay safe.
