Kumail Nanjiani feels 'helpless' and ‘hopeless’ as Covid-19 cases spike in US

Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani has been very vocal in criticizing the US government in its handling of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He said he is feeling helpless and hopeless as the coronavirus cases surged in the country.

The usually optimistic actor-comedian Nanjiani took Twitter Sunday morning and opened up about feeling helpless, scared and sad amidst the ongoing pandemic. In his lengthy Twitter thread, he expressed his helplessness over the situation and criticized US government.

“I’m sorry. I’m generally a very optimistic person & have fought to keep positive these last few months. But today is hard. We are heading into a massive Covid spike & the people who are supposed to protect us are doing nothing & blaming us for being concerned.”

Nanjiani, 42, who normally adopts a humoristic approach in his rants on the matter, recently expressed his concerns in an emotional note. He said that he tries hard to stay positive, but there are days when it becomes difficult for him to cling on to optimism.

“I feel like I work Fealy hard to keep all these doors closed in my mind, to try and keep all these scary/sad/devastating thoughts out of my head. Focus on the positive. Donate to worthy causes. People are doing fantastic work out there. Most days it works. But not today.”

The Silicon Valley actor talked about how he and his wife Emily V Gordon have been in quarantine for the last eight months since the latter is part of a high-risk group. “We’ve been in quarantine for 8 months because my wife is in a high risk group. We feel let down by our country. But it’s not about us. We’re the lucky ones. Over 226,000 people have died. That’s so many families destroyed. People have lost their homes, their jobs.”

Comparing the situation with other countries, he stressed that the fiasco is preventable. “And this was all preventable. I look at the Covid cases & deaths in other countries & it feels like they’re in another world. Are they dealing with the same disease we are? I guess that’s the difference. They’re dealing with it. We’re not. We politicized every suppression effort.”

The Stuber star concluded his note by saying to his followers to take extra care. He urged his fans to follow all the safety protocols, wear a mask and help those in need during the pandemic.

During the lockdown, Nanjiani and Gordon have been created the podcast Staying In with Emily & Kumail to chronicle their quarantine life and have also raised funds for charities helping those affected by the pandemic.