The contestants currently housed in Big Brother Germany and Big Brother Canada have no clue about the world’s ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
They have no knowledge of how widespread the virus is and it will remain so until they leave the houses. This is due to the show’s rules which ban the participants from receiving any kind of outside information.
The German contestants have entered the house on February 6, at a time when the there were only few affected people in Bavaria. Upon their arrival, the contestants were tested for the coronavirus, and each of them had negative results.
Ever since, none of them has received any information about Covid-19. As of Sunday, March 15, there were 4838 active cases in Germany and 12 people had passed away due to the virus, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said.
Additional players who have joined the show after the original start date have been told not to share any information to those already in the house.
In its defense, German TV station Sat1 has said that there are certain circumstances under which they would share information with people in the house – for instance, if a contestant’s relative has contracted the virus.
They share the following with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung:
Of course, the residents will be informed if there is reason to do so. Which information is given to the residents from outside is also decided in exchange with the relatives.
At the moment, the players are living in two houses in Ossendorf, one of the most coronavirus-affected states in the country. As per Sat1, the show has implemented ‘special hygiene measures’ in order to keep the contestants safe.
Meanwhile, Canadian contestants have entered the Big Brother house on March 4, again before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus outbreak.
As of Sunday, March 15, 305 people were confirmed to carry the virus throughout Canada and one person has passed away as a result. Even though the number of cases is much lower than in most places around the world, large gatherings have been forbidden in order to prevent the spread.
A week ago, Global and Insight Productions stated that the show would be broadcasting without a studio audience as a safety measure.
According to Entertainment Tonight Canada, the statement read:
The health and safety of our staff, crew, house guests, and audience members are of the utmost importance and effective today, March 12, we have suspended audience members from attending live tapings of the show until further notice. We will continue to produce the show and monitor the situation closely.
Video footage of the players talking about why there was no one in the audience to cheer for the first person who had left the house went viral during the weekend and led many people to think they have not been made aware of the decision.
In the video, they are talking about why they could not hear the audience, with one person asking: ‘unless the house is now soundproof?’ Another person said the whole situation is simply ‘weird’.
People on social media had various opinions on the subject:
this bit of canadian Big Brother where housemates have no idea why there wasn't a live audience crowd at evictions. this is what has finally tipped me over the edge pic.twitter.com/jqneBgp206
— Amitai (@taitoush) March 14, 2020
In Canada, a new season of Big Brother started 2 weeks ago. The contestants have no clue about the severity of the Coronavirus pandemic. When someone is voted out of the show, they come out to a studio with no audience.
Contestants talk about it then production shuts them down. pic.twitter.com/hixPc4KEf9
— C.J. Prince (@cj_prin) March 15, 2020
You guys.
Let's just all move into the Big Brother Canada House. They've been quarantined for weeks. That's literally the point of the show! And I bet they have a ton of toilet paper. #BBCAN8 pic.twitter.com/LYrySoXwpV
— Mike Morrison 🏳️🌈 (@mikesbloggity) March 12, 2020
People also had many things to say about the Germans side of the story:
big brother germany started on february 6th and the people in there deadass don’t know there’s a pandemic going on. they’re not allowing any outside info pic.twitter.com/PTLFNUTCBd
— stef (@mythiicbitch) March 13, 2020
One of my favourite headlines about the Corona Virus in Germany is how the participants of Big Brother have no idea what’s going on. They moved in on February 6 and haven’t had access to any news since then. And nobody is allowed to tell them.
— Conrad Barwa (@ConradkBarwa) March 14, 2020
Apparently, there’s a Big Brother series running in Germany.
The contestants have been in since early February and have no idea what’s unfolding in the real world.
Scenes when they come out to the apocalypse. 🧟♂️ pic.twitter.com/jNekDLUWfL
— Spencer Lad (@Spencer_MCFC) March 15, 2020
When reality is stranger than fiction:
In Germany there is a reality tv show (Big Brother) running since Feb 6th where the participants are living in isolation from the rest of the world and no one told them about COVID-19 yethttps://t.co/igkWwG8SIr
via @maschapeleshko
— Thomas 🍄 (@__tosh) March 13, 2020
The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, when the shows were already filming.
Do you believe that the Big Brother contestants should be made aware of the coronavirus situation? Let us know your thoughts on the subject in the comments and please share this article if you’ve found it informative.
