Coronavirus: Celebrities including Naomi Campbell and Bella Hadid react to outbreak on social media
Designer suitcases and luxury loungewear are the kind of extravagant items one would expect to see a celebrity take on board as they clock up air miles on arduous long-haul flights.
But following the outbreak of coronavirus, A-listers have been seen sporting an unlikely travel must-have: the face mask.
Worlds apart from the free champagne and caviar you might imagine celebrities request when flying First Class, it seems stars are becoming more concerned with staying healthy than looking glamorous as they jet-set around the globe for work to countries like Paris and Italy, where several towns are on lockdown.
Download the new Independent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
In an era of social media, rumours surrounding the spread of the virus are rife and while many have accused high profile celebrities of scaremongering, there is some cause for concern.
On Tuesday, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Americans to begin preparing for the flu-like virus, while Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, said “there is every indication the world will soon enter a pandemic phase”.
So far, more than 3,300 people have been killed by coronavirus around the globe, and more than 96,000 infected.
As the virus continues to spread around the globe, celebrities have taken to social media to share the ways in which they are protecting themselves while travelling, albeit through the art of the selfie.
From Gwyneth Paltrow’s Contagion pun to Bella Hadid’s Fashion Week face mask, here are all the times A-listers have reacted to the outbreak on social media.
Naomi Campbell
On Thursday, the British model shared a photograph of herself wearing pink rubber gloves and telling her 8.5 million followers to “be safe”.
Campbell also wrote: “Don’t forget your gloves” alongside a handglove emoji.
In the photo, the model can be seen wearing a grey poloneck top and a gold watch.
Gwyneth Paltrow
On Wednesday, Gwyneth Paltrow shared a selfie of her wearing a heavy-duty face mask during a flight to Paris for Fashion Week.
In the image, the actor could be seen dressed in a black mask covering her mouth and nose while sitting in her plane seat.
For the caption, Paltrow referred to the 2011 film Contagion she starred in, which sees a deadly virus sweep the world.
“En route to Paris. Paranoid? Prudent? Panicked? Placid? Pandemic? Propaganda? Paltrow’s just going to go ahead and sleep with this thing on the plane,” she wrote.
“I’ve already been in this movie. Stay safe. Don’t shake hands. Wash hands frequently.”
Kate Hudson
“Travel. 2020,” Hudson captioned the image along with a flushed face emoji, which showed her wearing a disposable surgical mask.
The actor’s followers were quick to point out that her face mask might not be the right type, with one person commenting: “If you’re worried about corona..only the N95 mask will protect.you..that one won’t do much…just saying.”
The recommendations led Hudson writing a comment of her own on Paltrow’s post, saying: “At least you have the right mask!!!” alongside an eye roll emoji.
Bella Hadid
On Monday, supermodel Bella Hadid shared a selfie with her 28.8 million followers while en route to Fashion Week, wearing a face mask on an airplane.
The model was putting her health first as she jetted out of Milan to Paris after the coronavirus outbreak hit parts of Italy.
The 23-year-old also shared an Instagram story video which showed her sitting on a plane with a mask covering her mouth and nose. “Next city lets go [sic],” she captioned the clip.
Selena Gomez
On Wednesday, Selena Gomez shared a series of photographs to document her recent travels to Chicago, Illinois with her mother Mandy Teefey.
The singer posted a gallery of five images from the trip alongside the caption: “Momma and I being tourists. We take great pictures. OH and we went to CrimeCon! Love you Chicago and the bean.”
The final photo in Gomez’s post showed her waiting at Chicago’s O’Hare airport wearing a blue jacket and a mask over her face.
Eva Longoria
Earlier this week, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria posted a video on her Instagram page to comfort her 7.7m followers after receiving a flood of messages regarding her recent travels to Italy.
“I am shooting in this small town in Italy. I’m nowhere near the north. Thank you for your concerns,” she said in the clip.
”Everybody was calling and texting me and talking about the coronavirus in the north of Italy. It’s really sad, but we’re further away.” In a previous post she said she would be in the country for one week.
Stormzy
British star Stormzy was recently forced to postpone the Asian leg of his “Heavy Is The Head” world tour due to the spread of coronavirus.
The grime artist wrote on Twitter: “I was seriously looking forward to bringing the #HITH world tour to Asia and playing some epic sold-out shows but due to the ongoing health and travel concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
“I’m regrettably having to reschedule this leg of the tour.” Stormzy has since deleted his social media accounts.
Brody Jenner
Last week, reality TV star Brody Jenner shared a selfie on Instagram of him wearing a face mask while on board a seemingly empty flight to Taiwan.
Jenner was travelling to Bali for a friend’s wedding and ran into his ex Kaitlynn Carter on the flight back.
Carter later shared a video on her Instagram story of her and Jenner wearing face masks as they sat next to one another on the plane. Carter could be seen covering her nose and mouth with a disposable mask, while Jenner appeared to be wearing a face mask with a respirator attached.
“Well, one of us is going to survive the Coronavirus and it’s probably not me in my flimsy mask,” Carter said in the clip as she panned over to Jenner.
