New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has gone straight to the people to spread his stay-at-home message _ the famous people, that is.
"This is not life as usual. There is a density level in NYC that is destructive. It has to stop and it has to stop now. NYC must develop an immediate plan to reduce density. #StayAtHome," Cuomo tweeted Sunday morning.
Video messages from Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Ben Stiller and Lala Anthony followed, all tagged with New York state's new slogan: "Stay home. Stop the spread. Save lives."
The messages, aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus, were a reaction to situations in New York that were similar to the scenes at California's beaches and parks over the weekend. Those gatherings, many of which failed to adhere to social-distancing guidelines, resulted in the closure of local trails, parks and beach parking lots.
In New York, Stiller addressed his fellow city dwellers on Cuomo's behalf, saying, "We really have to all stay at home. It's the only way we can stop the spread of this virus. And it's only going to work if we all do it together." He urged people to chill out, maybe watch movies or explore a new hobby.
Then he went back to practicing his brand new chainsaw-sculpting skills, which he finally had the time to learn.
Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito and Lala Anthony all had similar messages, which included a plea to think about protecting other people from the coronavirus, including older Americans.
"Young people can get it, and they can transmit it to old people, and the next thing you know _ I'm outta there," said DeVito, who also suggested that people "Watch a little TV, why dontcha!"
"Please. I'm watching you," De Niro said, pointing two fingers at his own eyes and then at the camera lens.
Anthony gave a shout-out to Brooklyn before urging people to stay inside and "listen to some music like I'm doing right now. Watch a good movie. Talk to your family. Do something creative on the computer or something.
"Stay your butt inside."
