Why Global Citizens Should Care
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic demands urgent action from governments around the world. The "Together At Home" virtual series and campaign encourages people to practice social distancing and support the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. You can join our “Together At Home” campaign to help beat coronavirus by taking action here.

Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson had a blast playing fan favorites during a home concert as part of the "Together At Home" virtual series on Wednesday. 

Robertson asked for fan requests in the run up to the livestream, and ran through songs that included "Boomerang," "Thanks That Was Fun," "Light Up My Room," and "Testing 123." He also sang a cover of "If I Had a Boat" by Lyle Lovett. The singer-songwriter has been doing his part to promote social distancing during the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic by recording “selfie cam jams” over the past week. 

He encouraged his followers to visit globalcitizen.org/coronavirus to learn more about how they can help in the effort to end the coronavirus pandemic.

"Do your part to help out in this weird time," he said. "Get involved, use your voice, thanks for being here."

Robertson talked about how people need to take coronavirus more seriously saying that the virus "can spread like wildfire."

"About three weeks ago I was that guy going, 'What's the big deal, it’s just a flu.' I even heard world leaders say that," he said. 

"We already have a vaccine for that flu and treatments for it — and it still killed 36,000-plus people last year," he said. "We don’t have a vaccine yet for this one so flattening the curve is absolutely imperative."

Throughout the set, Robertson invited various fans to join him on the livestream and asked them how they were coping with social distancing and public shutdowns

Barenaked Ladies have supported a range of humanitarian organizations over the years including “Habitat for Humanity,” “The Children’s Center,” and “Green Music Group.”

The "Together At Home" campaign was launched on March 16 by Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO). Dozens of artists, actors, and health experts have joined the campaign to support the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Through the campaign, Global Citizens can take actions on a number of topics, including calling on world leaders to fund relief efforts. 

Globally, more than 509,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus and 23,335 people have died from it, according to the WHO. The WHO is guiding the global response to the pandemic and is helping health facilities around the world by providing essential supplies and resources.

Scientists say that the most effective way to protect people during the pandemic is through the practice of social distancing and the implementation of shelter-in-place mandates.

By visiting Global Citizen’s "Together At Home" campaign page, you can learn more about coronavirus and find ways to get involved in your community.

The "Together At Home" series has featured dozens of artists and influencers, including Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello alongside Shawn Mendes, Lindsey Sterling, Kerry Washington, Chloe X Halle, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and more.

There are many more virtual events to come this week, including these sets over the weekend:

You can see all of Global Citizen's COVID-19 coverage here.

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