There’s evidence that wearing face masks helps to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and yet, many still resist the protocol recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amid the pandemic — and that’s what has Stevie Nicks so concerned.
On Tuesday, the singer, songwriter and rock legend took to Facebook to urge her fans to don masks in order to stem the tide of the outbreak, prevent deaths, preserve good health and maybe even save her iconic voice, too.
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“We still have our freedom,” the Fleetwood Mac vocalist wrote as she began her post. “But we don’t have much time~”
That’s why she shared her second missive on the topic.
“On July 29th, 2020 when I posted my journal entry about wearing masks, there were 141,430 deaths from COVID 19 in the United States,” she continued. “Today, August 10th, 2020 there are 163,465 deaths from COVID 19 in the United States. 22,035 people have died in 13 days….”
She continued: "A lot of people still aren’t taking the wearing of a simple mask seriously~ or, just trying to be aware of how close you are to others. The masks and the distancing have now become a political statement. It is not political. It is a silent killer hiding in the shadows. It is stalking you. It doesn’t care who you are…It’s just looking for a victim.”
She went on to explain that there’s more to be concerned about than death, with long-term, possibly even lifelong, repercussions for some patients after recovery, such as “micro-blood clots … neurological problems … a cough that rips your throat apart and keeps coming back.”
And that latter possibility taps into a big worry for her as a beloved singer.
“If I get it, I will probably never sing again,” she explained. “Put me on a ventilator and I will be hoarse for the rest of my life~ I don’t have much time… I am 72 years old….”
Seeing more and more images of beaches, bars and block parties that demonstrate a lack of masks or social distance has her particularly upset.
She wrote, “People are dying because people aren’t wearing their masks.”
Nicks compared the pandemic to the plot of her appearance on season three of “American Horror Story.”
“It was just a great story, but I felt the gravity of it even then,” she wrote of the apocalyptic storyline. “You did not want to leave that safe house because only death awaited you above ground. When those characters ventured out for just a moment~ They wore their hazmat suits and black gas masks~ no questions asked. … What’s going on in our country now, is a real ‘American Horror Story.’”
So she continued her plea.
“This virus can kill you,” Nicks stated. “It can kill me. Kill my chances of pulling on those boots and hitting the road~ Kill the chances that any of us in the music community will ever get back to the stage, because we would never put you in danger~ never take you and your life for granted. Never put your family members who are older and more fragile in danger. You should feel the same.”
In closing, she added, “163,465 people have died… It’s getting worse every day. Call it Armageddon. Call it a Pandemic. Call it the Apocalypse… This is a real American Horror Story~ It is not a mini-series ~ It is a tragedy~”