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Rapper Cardi B says celebrities who have publicly disclosed that they have tested positive for the coronavirus without having any symptoms are confusing the general public.
In a more than 4-minute-long video posted Tuesday to her Instagram account, the Bronx rapper said “45,” referring to President Donald Trump, has advised people not to get tested for COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, if they do not have symptoms.
“But if a celebrity is saying, ‘Hey, listen. I don’t have no symptoms. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling healthy. I don’t feel like nothing, but I went and got tested and I’m positive for the coronavirus,’ that cause confusion,” she said in the expletive-laden video, during which she wears a mask. The video has been viewed more than 15 million times.
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, said “the general public, people that work regular jobs, people that get regular paychecks, the middle class, the poor … they’re not getting treated like celebrities.”
She said it can take days for everyday people to receive their test results — if they are tested at all — which has not been the case for a number of celebrities, politicians and professional athletes.
“The coronavirus is very much real,” she said.
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Cardi B went on to say she knows someone who is younger than 30 who sought treatment and was told, “If your cold is not for eight days, you cannot get tested.”
People in their 40s, 50s and 60s have less trouble getting tested, the rapper alleged in the video. She also took issue with people who are not famous and who test positive being sent home by medical professionals and told to self-quarantine.
“Where do they think they sending people home to?” she asked. “Everyone doesn’t have the luxury … to go in a big-ass house and just stay away from people.”
“A lot of people live in small-ass apartments with multiple people,” she said.
Living in such conditions helps the virus to spread, she added.
Cardi B named no celebrities in her video but emphasized that many people cannot afford to get tested.
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Tom Hanks was the first prominent figure to say he had the virus. In a statement on March 11, Hanks said he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, were in Australia, where he was set to film a movie, when they tested positive.
“We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches,” Hanks said in the statement. “Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers, too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive.”
Since then, other celebrities, such as actor Idris Elba and NBA star Kevin Durant, have said they tested positive. Neither Elba nor Durant had any symptoms.
Cardi B concluded her video by saying the government should foot the bill for people to get tested and treated.
“At the end of the day, this sh– could have been prevented when they found out about this sh– couple of months ago” given what was going on in China, she said, adding that it was the fault of those in power that the virus entered the United States.
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