Tyler Perry Urges Black Community To Take Coronavirus Seriously

ATLANTA — The coronavirus has hit close to home for people across the world, including Atlanta movie moguel Tyler Perry. The filmmaker recently lost one of his crew members . In an Instagram post Thursday, he announced the death of hairstylist Charles Gregor.

“The man was warm, loving and hilarious,” he wrote. “We all loved to see him coming and hear his laughter. Charles lost his battle with COVID-19 today.”

He then urged more black people to take the precautions seriously.

“While everyone can contract the virus, it is black people who are dying from it in much larger numbers. This thing is real black people.”

Perry pleaded with the community to practice social distancing.

"You have to socially distance yourself," Perry wrote. "That means stop hanging out, stop congregating, stop doing anything that will put not only your life in danger but also the lives of so many others."

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, there isn't racial data for 60 percent of cases. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the state’s limited testing means many more cases never got diagnosed or reported.

“Data is important,” Dr. Stephanie Miles-Richardson, associate dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine, told the AJC. “Absent the data, the ability to see where the virus is limits our ability to be responsive.”

Infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said last week that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Health disparities have always existed for African Americans, he said, “But here again, with this crisis, …it’s shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is.”

Georgia Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said the state is working with labs and health professionals who conduct the tests to make sure that a patient's race is being noted on the form.