If there’s anyone who is going to use the extra time that comes with social distancing in order to be more productive, it’s Oprah Winfrey.
“Like millions of people all over the world, I’ve been staying safer at home for over a week now,” Oprah tweeted on Saturday. “I know a lot of people are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, & uncertain. [Because] of that, I want to offer some hope & gather thought leaders & people going through it to add some perspective.”
The media mogul then took that moment to announce her new timely Apple TV series, Oprah Talks COVID-19. The title is pretty self-explanatory, but here’s the synopsis provided by Apple in case you need extended insight into what to expect from the series:
How can we mindfully move through a crisis while holding on to ourselves and our humanity? In this series, Oprah has remote conversations with experts and everyday people to provide insight, meaning and tangible advice for the human spirit.
“This is an opportunity for our humanity to either rise or not,” Oprah noted.
In the first episode, Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba sat down for a virtual discussion to talk about their personal experiences following last week’s announcement that Idris had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus strain.
Following much speculation, Sabrina confirmed she too tested positive for COVID-19 after showing no symptoms. She also directly addressed any concerns or questions fans had in regard to her decision not to self-isolate from her husband.
“I could have made the decision to put myself, maybe, in a separate room or stay away, and I’m sure that people are making those decisions. And they’re tough decisions to make,” Sabrina noted. “But I made the decision to want to be with him and, you know, still touch him.”
Valid.
Besides, the couple believes she may have also come in contact with the same person that Idris was probably exposed to, as they were together on that day.
“If I had caught it, she had certainly caught it in that time period, as well,” Idris explained. “People were right to have highlighted that spatial distancing is important. I think given the context of the video, which was telling the world what has happened to us, we weren’t thinking about that specifically.”
Again, I wish the couple well as they heal together. Also, I hope they’re both sharing a laugh over New York Daily News referring to Elba as “Cats Actor Idris Elba” in their social media copy.
The first episode of Oprah Talks COVID-19 is currently available on Apple TV and the series can be streamed with or without a subscription.