Superstars of COVID-19 - nurses, doctors, firefighters & cops

Forget trending on Twitter, singing Imagine and the Kardashians, what we're witnessing during the horror of the coronavirus pandemic are real life superheroes - our first responders.

Earlier this week, a creature calling herself Bhad Bhabie was a top trend on Twitter. What did she do to earn such acclaim? She tanned her pale white skin a shade of brown and put on a long black-haired wig, lip-synched something incoherent, and charges of cultural appropriation flew all around the internet.

Bhad Bhabie – a massively untalented teen rapper/fame addict – didn’t seem too concerned about the coronavirus, and didn’t use her platform to urge her followers to take care during these troubled times.

She, like so many “celebrities,” lives in an alternate universe. They sing songs to us like “Imagine” from their mansions, they tell us how tough it is to quarantine when the staff isn’t around, and they show us their newly grey roots because the 24-7 hairdresser can’t tend to their tresses. They’re just like us…not!

The days of putting the likes of Bhad Bhabie, the Kardashians, the Housewives and their ilk on a pedestal should be a thing of the past. We have real-life heroes, true superstars living right among us who don’t make million dollar salaries or have tons of social media followers, but they should have.

Take a bow, health care workers of America and the world. Each and every day during this horrifying coronavirus pandemic we have been awed by your bravery and selflessness, your dedication to caring for the stricken, putting your own lives on the line in the process.

From doctors and nurses, aides and cleaners, EMTs and therapists, and anyone else who steps foot in a hospital these days, the gratitude we feel for your service is immense.

We’ve watched as you’ve pleaded for more protective equipment, as you’ve shed tears when a patient dies alone, as you’ve nurtured the sick back to life. The silly so-called reality shows we watch have nothing on the real-life drama unfolding on our screens every day, and our health care workers are to the fore.

As Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling said on Face the Nation on Sunday, “What's amazing here is that at times of crisis like this, people's character reveals itself…We are seeing in many ways the best of humanity.”

That’s for sure. Just as members of our FDNY and NYPD showed us what true leadership was like on 9-11, our health care professionals are doing the same right now when we need it most.

Their bravery and courage is worth an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy combined, and then some.

Other #isolation thoughts:

*Very best wishes of course to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who on Monday was transferred to an ICU unit in a London hospital with worsening coronavirus symptoms. But the PM’s press conference on March 3 in which he bragged that he shook hands with some hospitalized COVID-19 patients hasn’t aged well at all. What was he thinking, especially with a pregnant fiancée back at 10 Downing Street?

*You’ve got to hand it to Queen Elizabeth, the indomitable, almost 94-year-old heart and soul of the British royal family who gave an inspiring speech to her nation on Sunday. She’s as tough as they come, and whatever your thoughts on the royal family, Elizabeth has served with dignity and grace for decades.

*Before he became a politician Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was a doctor, and he’s signed up to practice once again as the coronavirus continues to persist in Ireland. He’ll still lead Ireland, at least for now, and also volunteer as a physician one day a week. A great gesture of solidarity from the taoiseach.