Oprah Winfrey warned of the dangers the coronavirus poses to the black community and said simply, “it’s taking us out.”
“We need to understand for ourselves: This is so serious. It’s taking us out,” the 66-year-old former talk show host shared with the “Today” show in a piece published Tuesday by NBC News. (RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
WATCH:
Watch @HodaKotb‘s entire interview with @Oprah on the impact of coronavirus crisis and how it is disproportionately affecting African American communities. pic.twitter.com/Fhob67p56v
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 14, 2020
“It’s not only ravaging our community, but people who have preexisting conditions, which I think people didn’t hear that,” she added. “So if you are taking medication for your diabetes, if you’re taking medication because of hypertension, if you need an asthma inhaler for asthma, if you have any kind of lung disorder.”(RELATED: Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC)
Winfrey continued, while explaining, “the moment I heard preexisting conditions, I’m like, ‘Lock the door, nobody coming in here.'”
Her comments follow reports las week that people in the black community are being disproportionately harmed by COVID-19, per the Hill.
“So I represent that legacy of growing up poor and black in America,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams shared on “CBS This Morning.” “And I and many black Americans are at higher risk for COVID, which is why we need everyone to do their part to slow the spread.”