Even before the COVID-19 pandemic put life on the dancefloor on hold, many disc jockeys were already into promoting dance music as an approach to health and wellness. It helped that the transition to promoting wellness festivals, particularly among millennials came before the global health crisis.
In knowing how and where to channel feelings of anxieties, many were able to cope with the mental challenges presented by the lockdown and quarantine mandates.
The merger of music and for-fitness clubbing took off but was in danger of failing. Yet the values derived from such fitness practices and exercises, subsequently proved useful by many who found themselves alone and isolated from the rest of the world.
One example was how Italian musicians came out of their balconies and gave performances that reminded people they were all “together alone” in battling the health crisis. In other parts of the globe, Tik Tok users were into meeting dance challenges, while many well-known singers began streaming videos of their musical performance to connect with their fans. Deejays uploaded videos of their mix-sets at Twitch, many of which became the top attractions of the streaming platform.
We at Team 9 (https://team9.net/dj/best-equipment/mixers/ ) are supportive of the directions taken by musicians toward the promotion of health and wellness — combining musical events with fitness programs. We noted that many aspiring disc jockeys channeled their lockdown frustrations by learning and practicing their scratching, mixing and controlling skills. Our advice for them when purchasing DJ beginner equipment is to first know the important features that a good mixer or a controller must have, instead of simply making buying decisions based on brand and prices.
Floridians Learn the Hard Way that Health and Wellness is Not a Shield in Combating Covid-19
Unfortunately however, the deejay community in Florida suffered a blowback, in learning how a young and healthy fellow deejay Conrad Buchanan did not survive the COVID-19. Conrad was a fit 39-year old deejay who became one of the earlier casualties of the novel coronavirus in the U.S.
In March 14, Conrad started feeling sick and had tried to get himself tested but was denied several times by hospital because his age and that of being in good health (with no underlying medical issues), he could not be given priority over other persons of interest who were already in the line for COVID-19 testing.
However, when Conrad’s condition worsened by March 22, Conrad’s wife Nicole drove the Florida deejay to the hospital’s emergency area. After ensuring that a crew of medical personnel were already attending to her husband, Nicole drove the car to the parking lot. She never got to see Conrad again because the hospital went into lockdown after it was confirmed that her husband was COVID-19 positive. She was later informed that Conrad had succumbed to the disease and had to be immediately cremated.
Nicole who also turned out COVID-19 positive but was able to recover, had aired public messages telling people that the threats of the disease were real, not only to the elderly and people with underlying conditions. Apparently, many of the young people in Florida preferred to believe that the young and healthy is invulnerable to the disease, and were less mindful of the warnings made by health experts.
Many Floridians are Currently Suffering After Disregarding Public Health Experts’ Advice and Warnings
Sad to say, only a few listened because many still clamored for the lifting of the lockdown, to which Florida governor de Santis all too soon agreed. As a result, the premature lifting of the lockdown and easing down of safe distancing measures was a regrettable action. Florida today has been reporting tens of thousands of new cases of COVID-19 infectious, and has for the third time, broke its own record of reaching past the 50,000 mark of new cases on a per day basis.
