Michael Stripe, former singer for the rock band R.E.M., advised Americans in a cheeky but sober video message to self-quarantine as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.

Stipe opened his messaged by singing lyrics from his 1987 rock hit “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” He outlined how people should isolate themselves at home unless necessary, advised viewers to maintain a minimum of six feet of distance between themselves and others as per the CDC’s guidelines.

Watch below:

“I do feel fine. I feel okay,” Stipe says. “The important part of that lyric, that song title, is ‘As We Know It.’ We’re about to go through – we are going through something that none of us have ever encountered before and that is, of course, the coronavirus. And it’s real and it’s serious and it’s here.”

Stripe said:

Please take this seriously, do not go out of your house, unless you have to. So I’m bunkering. I’m quarantining. I’m a QSQ, or quasi-self-quarantined for several days now, and that’s going to continue because I don’t want to go outside. I don’t want to be responsible for getting someone else sick if I’m already sick. I don’t think I am [infected with coronavirus]. But none of us know if we are. You can go 10 or 12 days — or more — without having symptoms. You can be asymptomatic and not know that you’re passing it on to people that are going to pass it on to people that pass it on to people. There are people in our community, of course, who are challenged physically and who are going to get sick.

Just days before the rocker posted his PSA, the 1987 hit song climbed back up the charts.

“If you’ve seen the news, [Italy’s] medical system is completely overwhelmed, and we want to prevent that from happening here in America. …Please, please, don’t go out. Please stay at home. Self-quarantine, shelter, cell phone in place,” Stripe added.

The rocker listed “four simple rules” for Americans to follow to address to coronavirus outbreak:

Hand-washing hygiene is crucial to reducing the spread of coronavirus, noted Stripe. “Wash your hands, 20 seconds, don’t sing ‘happy birthday’ twice,” he said, joking, “It’s already depressing and sad. Find another song. Find a good, happy, calming song. Your blue skies song.” Stripe urged Americans to apply social distancing. “Act like you’re already contagious,” he said. “Don’t go out unless you have to. If you have to get groceries, stay six feet away from anyone else. Don’t cough. Don’t sneeze in public. If you do, wash your hands immediately. Use hand sanitizer. Do whatever you can to avoid being around anybody that you don’t have to be around. That’s how we prevent this from spreading today.” Avoiding misinformation while being conscientious in news media consumption is “The most important thing,” Stripe estimated, “Be careful where you get your information from. …. Go to the CDC. Go to trusted news sources. Don’t trust social media to tell you what is and is not contagious, or scary, or weird.” Self-quarantining should be practised, Stripe added. “Stay at home. Do what I’m doing — QSQ — quasi-self-quarantine. Do it, because you want to help your community. You want to help the people that you love, that you don’t even know, yet, because they’re going to help you sometime in the future. Let’s all help each other.”

Stripe said, “We can do this, you guys. We can pull it together. We can make it happen. It’s fucking 2020, let’s get our hiit together. Let’s make it happen … Let’s take this seriously. Let’s do it tonight. Let’s celebrate Saint Patrick’s day in four months time. I’ll celebrate with you in August.”

Stripe concluded, “Finally, to all the healthcare workers that are on the front line and are putting their lives at risk to help those who are already sick or who are amping up — ramping up — to help the people that are going to get sick, our hearts and our prayers and our thoughts and our energy are with all of you.”

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