ATLANTA — Atlanta-based movie mogul Tyler Perry is urging the black community to take the coronavirus seriously after losing one of his crew members.
Perry wrote a post on Instagram on Thursday, announcing the death of hairstylist Charles Gregory.
Perry went on to urge the black community to stay home and heed precautions.
“The man was warm, loving and hilarious. We all loved to see him coming and hear his laughter,” Perry wrote. “Charles lost his battle with COVID-19 today.”
Perry cited studies that suggest the black community is at a disproportionately higher risk of dying from the virus and begged the community to practice social distancing.
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"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."
As of Saturday night, nearly 3,000 African American people in Georgia had contracted the coronavirus, compared to 1,926 white people.