A New Orleans DJ and radio personality who goes by the name of “Black N Mild” is dead because of the coronavirus. The 44-year-old, whose real name is Oliver Stokes Jr., is now one of two coronavirus related deaths in the state of Louisiana. According to Nola.com, the coroner’s office said that Stokes had tested positive for COVID-19.
Aside from his DJ work, Stokes was also the “in school suspension coordinator” at Arthur Ashe Charter School. “Our school community is devastated,” Sabrina Pence, the CEO of FirstLine Schools, said about him. It was reported that he left work on March 9 with a fever and didn’t return after that. Pence added, “We strongly encourage anyone that had any type of symptoms โ fever, cough, not feeling well in any capacity โ to stay home.”
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As of Tuesday, according to the CDC, 44,183 people in America have contracted the virus, while 544 people have died because of it. Just one day prior, those numbers were at 33,404 people affected and 404 dead.
Famous faces like Idris Elba, Daniel Dae Kim, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson are just a few big names who have tested positive for COVID-19. Shortly after Elba received his test results, he took to Twitter to inform his fans of the news and encourage them to practice social distancing, as well as, wash their hands more frequently.
“Hey, what’s up, guys. So look, this morning I got some rest results for coronavirus, and it came back positive,” he started the Twitter video. “Yeah, and it sucks. Listen, I’m doing okay. [His wife] Sabrina hasn’t been tested yet [she did get tested after the video], and she’s doing okay. I didn’t have any symptoms. I got tested because I realized I was exposed to someone who had also tested positive. I found out last Friday that they were tested positive but I quarantined myself and got a test immediately and got the results back today.”
Following that video, Sabrina was tested and he revealed that her results came back positive as well. As soon as she found out he tested positive, she rushed over to be with him, despite the fact that she would be putting herself at risk of contracting it. He took to Twitter in the following days to not only reveal her results but explain why the two chose to stay together with a lot of thought put into the possible outcomes.