JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD: 'Don't Be A Hoarder Of Any Sort, Because We're All In This Together'

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford has urged everyone to "keep each other safe" while they are at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Friday (March 20),more than one-quarter of Americans were being ordered to stay home as much as possible in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. The governors of New York, Illinois and Connecticut joined California and Pennsylvania in shutting down most businesses.

Earlier today, Halford released a video message to Loudwire in which he called for the heavy metal community to come together to help amid the coronavirus crisis.

He said (see video below): "Hello metal maniacs. This is when the metal community comes together, right?

"We know what we've gotta do as far as keeping things clean, and it includes washing your hands as many times a day as is needed.

"Try and be isolated," he continued. "If you go out, don't buy everything. Don't be a toilet paper hoarder. Don't be a kitchen roll hoarder. Don't be a hoarder of any sort, because we're all in this together.

"We have to keep each other safe. We have to do the isolating. We have to do the quarantining — whatever we need to do. This is serious, okay? But we're gonna get through it, because we've been through these problems, these situations before in history, and humanity has this great tenacity to pull together and to be strong and to overcome things that come before us.

"So, look after each other, look after yourselves, your family, your friends, your loved ones," he added. "Stay in touch. That's an important thing. Text each other and Facebook, FaceTime, Instagram — all of this is incredibly important. All the fear floating around — this is when we really have to kind of look out for each other and do what's necessary and the right thing to do.

"So, there you go. Those are my little words of advice.

"I love you. Keep strong. Keep safe. Keep metal. Oh, yeah!"

Authorities have repeatedly urged people to stay home and avoid crowding bars, restaurants, and public spaces in a bid to contain the coronavirus. They have since stepped up calls for Americans to move beyond hand washing and isolate themselves as much as possible because coronavirus's resulting respiratory disease (COVID-19) is believed to be 10 times more lethal than the flu.

Experts have called on everyone to practice social distancing because some people may have been infected but are showing minimal symptoms or may think they have a common cold or allergies. In addition, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) has asked people to avoid discretionary travel so that we can slow the spread of the virus — a concept known as flattening the curve.