With the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that April Fool’s is officially cancelled this 2020. As of this writing, there are more than 700,000 cases resulting in more than 30,000 deaths and rising. It is no laughing matter.
In the same way that concerts and other big gatherings have been cancelled, not celebrating April Fool’s is for the sake of safety and empathy towards the victims and would-be victims. We all need a little bit of laughter and some positivity given what we are facing, but celebrating an occasion such as April Fool’s is not the best way to do it. What we need right now is compassion, solidarity, and support. Now is the time to unite for the greater good rather than making up pranks and pranking other people.
The best way to deal with the pandemic, as advised by World Health Organization (WHO) and other health organizations, is regular handwashing and physical distancing. Doing pranks now is not in keeping with the spirit of physical distancing. We can't have laughs with people temporarily, but it is a small sacrifice to make if it would help stop the virus from spreading.
Even if April Fool’s is cancelled this year, it doesn't mean we can't celebrate it next year or in the coming years. For the first time in recent history, a pandemic has utterly changed our lives. This also means cancelling April Fool’s.
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