Daily Times

The United States has hit the 14 million mark as the rate of COVID-19 infections rise to the occasion. The month of November alone registered 4 million cases of coronavirus in the country. Americans already have had so much on the line for them this year in terms of poor leadership, crippling economy and mounting racism. The last thing the country needs right now are people violating standard operating procedures. However, that too has happened recently and this could very well be a reason why COVID-19 won’t be slowing down anytime soon in the United States.

Famed celebrities Rita Ora and Cardi B recently came under fire for hosting crowds of people at private events. Cardi B reportedly had 37 people as guests for Thanksgiving dinner while Rita Ora hosted around 30 guests for her 30th birthday. One of world’s biggest names in the music business did the unthinkable and violated essential safety measures in the face of an ongoing pandemic.

Their actions only come across as irresponsible and insensitive to others. It is lavish events like these that cause an uptick in infections. Many people are asymptomatic despite testing so it is harder to detect if a person has the disease or not. In that vein, celebrities shouldn’t turn a blind eye to an ongoing pandemic that has cost the lives of more than 270,000 Americans.

Cardi B even shared a tweet with her 15 million fans, boasting how she had 12 children and 25 adults at her Thanksgiving party. Even Rita Ora posted an image of her eating her birthday cake. She said in part, “It felt weird not doing anything for my bday.” More than 200,000 people liked her post and it was probably read by all 16 million fans on her Instagram. Rita did apologize in a post however, according to her, 30 people qualify for a small gathering. Her lack of knowledge on COVID-19 guidelines is shocking beyond words.

Famed celebrities Rita Ora and Cardi B recently came under fire for hosting crowds of people at private events. Cardi B reportedly had 37 people as guests for Thanksgiving dinner while Rita Ora hosted around 30 guests for her 30th birthday. One of world’s biggest names in the music business did the unthinkable and violated essential safety measures in the face of an ongoing pandemic

Throwing parties as if everything is normal is simply immoral. These celebrities bear a serious social responsibility in times of a national health crisis and a global emergency. Are they not aware of what is happening in America? Do they not understand the implications of their misleading posts? Clearly they should have known better.

Celebrities like Rita and Cardi have the ability to influence millions of people and their recent actions may have encouraged many others to follow into their footsteps. The United States will be celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve later this month. Imagine the kind of precedent they are setting for thousands and millions of people and their families.

Had Cardi B and Rita Ora not been called out in the mainstream media for their negligence, they would have continued to host dozens of people even on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. There are so many other artists out there who have probably kept their celebrations under wraps. At least Cardi and Rita were held accountable. What about those who weren’t?

The world is trying to navigate through a monstrous pandemic that has infected nearly 64 million people worldwide. We are all making exceptions this year for festivities and other celebratory occasions because we love our families. We have made a conscious decision to wear face masks and keep a safe distance to protect ourselves and those around us.

It is important that we make relentless efforts to keep safe and ensure that COVID-19 is not spread beyond our households. We should be humble with what we have and reflect on your purpose as human beings during the most challenging year in modern history. So, keep your celebrations mellow and just be thankful that you are alive!

The writer is a model and an actor. He can be reached at haiderrifaat95@gmail.com and Tweets at @HaiderRifaat