TV

Isolated ‘Big Brother’ Contestants In Germany Were Just Told About Coronavirus And Hoo Boy

The contestants have been in isolation since February, and were just told about the pandemic on live TV.

by Michelle Rennex  18 March 2020
big brother germany find out about coronavirus

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Fourteen Big Brother contestants in Germany have been in total isolation since February 6.

While COVID-19 coronavirus has existed for a few months now, the situation has certainly gotten worse since the contestants entered the house. On January 30, just a week before the contestants went into their own type of lockdown, the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus a “public health emergency of international concern”.

But it wasn’t until March 11, a month after the contestants entered the compound, that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. To put this into perspective, before Big Brother started filming, there were only 13 cases of coronavirus in Germany. Today, there are over 9,000 reported cases and there has been 26 deaths.

Talking to German outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung, the show’s broadcaster Sat.1 originally defended the choice not to inform contestants. But when news broke that there were people in the house who were blissfully unaware of the pandemic unfolding around them, producers faced backlash for their lack of communication. In response, Sat.1 decided to break protocol and inform contestants of the news.

Speaking to CNN, a Sat.1 spokesperson explained that theoretically, while some contestants may be aware of the virus’ existence, many are unaware of the severity of the situation in Germany.

So today in a live special, host Jochen Schropp and the show’s physician Andreas Kaniewski finally updated the contestants with the news. Along with thorough information about what is going on in the real world outside the house, the housemates were also given video message updates from home.

After being shown a video that summarised the news, emotional housemates were allowed to ask Schropp and Kaniewski, who were sat behind a glass partition, questions about COVID-19. These included questions about the current death rate and the risks the virus had for their loved ones.

One contestant, Michelle, a geriatric nurse, was particularly concerned over the wellbeing of her patients, while other housemates simply cried after hearing the news.

To help ease their fears, the contestants were shown video messages from family. Judging by the reactions, these videos clearly lifted the spirits of the shocked and confused contestants, who would have been obviously missing home in such an uncertain time. You can see the full episode here.

Similar to Big Brother in Germany, contestants in the Canadian house were also unaware of the full extent of COVID-19. With 324 confirmed coronavirus cases across Canada, contestants noticed a very obvious absence of a studio audience during an eviction.

Discussing the sound of the crowd at the eviction the week prior to the sudden silence from this week, Big Brother simply told the contestants to “please stop talking.”

Normally, Big Brother contestants don’t get given news updates about what’s happening on the outside world until the very end of the series. However, in serious cases, like we’ve seen with COVID-19, this rule may be lifted.

This was also seen in 2001, when the final three in the US had to be informed of the 9/11 attacks after a contestants’ cousin was declared missing.