Governor gives local officials more power to control virus spread
Mayor: Potential measures will be considered
Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced an amendment to an executive order he issued last month that will give city and county officials more power to try to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in their communities during his daily press briefing Tuesday at the State Capitol.
On March 26, Hutchinson issued an executive order declaring the state of Arkansas to be a disaster area. The order also included social distancing recommendations and some restrictions on public gatherings.
On Monday, he issued an order amending the original order; the amendment gives city and county officials more leeway to take local action to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, with the provision that they may not interfere with commerce.
The new proclamation states “reasonable city or county curfews and closures of city or
“People want to relate to real things, real people.”
While some influencers and stars continue to post a flood of flattering, carefully stage-managed images with every hair in place, others are indeed mirroring us — unshaven, unwashed and not ashamed.
“When I drink, I get really, really brilliant ideas,” the singer Pink confessed recently. “And last night, I got an idea — I can cut hair.” She then reveals some choppy, shaved spots on her head.
Celebrities, it turns out, really are just like us: They get drunk and do stupid stuff, too. And they’re like us in another way, too: Pink later announced that she also had contracted the virus.
The coronavirus has also unlocked places we never expected to go, like Selena Gomez’s bathroom and inside Broadway star Adrienne Warren’s bathtub. We’ve gotten to inspect Rosie O’Donnell’s messy garage/art studio.
We may be all in this together, but we’re not equal. After all, celebs may be just like us, except they’re usually much richer. The
new intimate view we have of the famous reveals a chasm: Bieber’s living room is large enough to fit several regular living rooms. Not everyone can self-isolate on a yacht.
A few weeks into the virus’ onslaught in America, some commentators had soured on the shenanigans of celebrities. “I don’t care what celebs are doing in their mansions,” one wrote on Instagram. Another posted a warning: “Funny how irrelevant they become when real problems curse us.”
The first real sign that celebrity exposure was curdling was when “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot led a sing-along of “Imagine” with such stars as James Marsden, Zoe Kravitz, Amy Adams and Mark Ruffalo. Pushback came quickly, with some commentators calling it “cringeworthy” and “out of touch.” They asked for donations, not songs.
Akshaya Sreenivasan, a social media marketing expert at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, says as the COVID-19 crisis drags on, celebrities are bound to face more online hate.
“Even Oprah is not going to be immune,” she says. “The big guys in Hollywood are going to be shredded to pieces, especially if they continue to post on Instagram, ‘Oh my God, I’m so bored. I’m drinking martinis in my private pool.’”