In case you missed the last moments of shows such as The Masked Singer or Chicago Med, you’re not alone. According to Deadline, on Wednesday night, there were widespread outages as DirecTV appeared to go dark. The AT&T satellite service reportedly went dark around 8:45 p.m. ET all across the country. This news comes as many Americans are currently engaging in social distancing and quarantine measures at home amidst the coronavirus crisis.
Deadline reported that the Twitter account Downdetector saw a spike in users reporting issues around 8:40 p.m. ET. The outages were reportedly concentrated on the West Coast, the eastern half of Texas, and throughout the East Coast. However, shortly after the DirecTV’s service went dark, it was back up and running at the top of the hour. DirecTV did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment about the news.
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Many Americans are currently keeping busy in their homes amidst this coronavirus crisis, with many turning to various outlets, like television, in order to preoccupy their time. This global health pandemic has forced many to adopt social distancing and self-quarantine measures in order to help combat the spread of the virus across the country. On Monday, during a press conference about this ongoing issue, President Donald Trump shared that these measures could be in place until July or August.
During the press conference, Trump not only addressed the possible timeline for these new guidelines, but he also urged Americans to avoid gathering in groups of 10 people or more. Additionally, he said that older individuals should stay at home in order to avoid contact with others.
“It’s important for the young and healthy people to understand that while they may experience mild symptoms. They can easily spread this virus and they will spread it indeed, putting countless others in harm’s way,” he said, per Deadline.
Days before this press conference, Trump declared a national emergency in response to this coronavirus crisis. At the time, he shared that he had enacted the Stafford Act in order to allow for increased funding to FEMA.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government in this effort today, I am officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said on Friday. “Two very big words. The action I am taking will open up access to $50 billion… for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease.”
The president also urged states to ensure that emergency preparedness measures were ready to go for hospitals so that they are able to “meet the needs of Americans everywhere.”
