Washing your hands might be common sense to some but not to all. A strong mix of mass hysteria and misinformation about COVID-19, known widely as the coronavirus, has everyone toting medical masks and gargling bleach. Here’s what we do know: New York’s Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has announced a “containment zone” in Westchester County’s New Rochelle, which has been a highly concentrated area of the virus.
“New Rochelle, at this point, is probably the largest cluster of these cases in the United States,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday (Mar. 10), The New York Times reports. The National Guard will be deployed to the area to clean schools and deliver food to quarantined residents. With 173 confirmed cases in New York, the state is working to ensure the safety of its residents. The same can be said for the rest of America, which has now seen a total of 802 confirmed cases and 27 fatalities across 36 states and Washington D.C.
Yes, the stats sound scary but stressing out about it won’t help. Dr. Joon Yun recently shared how mass hysteria towards the coronavirus could make things worse. “People will relentlessly and even delusionally mine for information that fits their fearful narrative—a condition known as folie à plusieurs [“madness of several”],” he wrote last week for Worth.
“In the context of race-to-the-bottom fear-mongering and easily subverted public consciousness, however, mass hysterias can behave maladaptively, especially where there is principal-agent risk and lack of stewardship. The coronavirus memes are the virus. Just as you can’t necessarily change how long a cold lasts by taking antibiotics or Tamiflu, these mass hysterias unfortunately probably have to run their natural course before fading away.”
As health professionals continue to learn more about the coronavirus, the best thing we can do is simply to wash our hands and wash them often. The command might seem mundane to some but there are hundreds and hundreds of articles that break down how to wash your hands. It’s been suggested to washing your hands with warm water for 20 seconds while thinking of jingles like “Happy Birthday” or “The Alphabet Song.”
But we’ll do you one better. Recite these soulful tracks while washing your hands. You might inspire the staggering 90 percent of people who don’t wash their hands properly to finally do it right.
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1. Patti LaBelle’s Gospel Rendition of The ABC’s (1998)
Fun Fact: Bert felt the gospel so much, his eye falls off at the end of the segment.
2. Finally Aaron’s Cover of The Golden Girls Theme Song (2016)
Fun Fact: The Pittsburgh native created a ringtone for his viral moment. Get. Them. Coins.
3. Stevie Wonder’s Masterpiece That Is “Happy Birthday” (1980)
Fun Fact: We might sing the song for our birthdays, but the track was a dedication to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was also a call to action to have lawmakers to commemorate a day for the civil rights icon. Would that fact be weird to share in a bathroom?
4. Beyonce’s Homecoming Version Of “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing” (2019)
Fun Fact: Beyonce had a hand in every nook and cranny of Beychella. “I respect things that take work. I respect things that are built from the ground up. I’m super specific about every detail,” she says in the critically acclaimed documentary Homecoming. “I personally selected each dancer, every light, the material on the steps, the height of the pyramid, the shape of the pyramid. Every patch was hand-sewn. Every tiny detail had an intention.” Maybe you can move with the same intentions while washing your hands.
5. The Jill Scott/MTV $2 Bill Version of The Roots’ “You Got Me” (2002)
Not So Fun Fact: Originally co-written by Scott, the then-budding vocalist was replaced with Erykah Badu for the single and video. Fans might remember The Roots’ appearing on MTV’s short-lived $2 Bill concert series in 2002, where they performed a grandiose version of the song with Scott. Dressed in black liberation threads, the singer commanded the crowd with a chilling performance and solidifying her legacy in R&B.
6. One of The Verses From “The Best Man I Can Be” (1999)
Fun Fact: Iconic songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and James “Big Jim” Wright were behind this wonderfully curated track featuring Case, Tyrese, R.L. and Ginuwine.
7. Teyana Taylor’s Version of “Never Would Have Made It”
Fun Fact: Marvin Sapp was touched to have his song covered by the R&B singer saying, “In 2006, when I wrote this song in a worship service after the death of my father initially, I never intended it to be heard. It was something I thought God gave me to get through my rough time. 12 years later, it’s still touching and changing lives universally.“
8. Opening Lines To Usher’s “Confessions (Interlude)” (2004)
Fun Fact: Some other R&B greats who appeared on Confessions include Faith Evans, who sang background on “Superstar,” Stevie Wonder on “Confessions Part I,” who played the harmonica, Robin Thicke and [his production partner] Pro J for “Can U Handle It” and the late music executive Shakir Stewart who helped put “Yeah!” together.
9. DMX’s Second Verse On “What They Really Want” (1999)
Fun Fact: The track was produced by Dru Hill member Nokio, who was credited as “The N-Tity.” He produced many of Dru Hill’s projects as well as Mya’s debut album.
10. The Chorus to The Five Stairsteps’ “O-o-h Child” (1970)
Fun Fact: While it sounds like siblings Keni, Dennis, James, lead singer Clarence Burke, Jr. are taking over the sentimental song, their eldest sister Alohe opens the loving single.