Patton Oswalt Performs Stand-Up in His Yard to Offer 'Hope and Humor' amid Coronavirus Outbreak

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Patton Oswalt is doing what he can to help his fellow Americans stay positive — from a safe distance.

As people across the nation are being urged to stay home and practice social distancing in order to help contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the comedian has found a new way to keep his community entertained.

Over the weekend, the former King of Queens star, 51, posted a video of himself performing stand-up from his yard for a few bewildered neighbors who ventured into their driveways.

“All right, folks, thanks for staying in tonight. Hope you guys are isolating and securing in place,” he said into his microphone. “Wow, this COVID-19, I tell ya. I didn’t see COVD 1 through 18, so I don’t know really know what this is all about. But hey, great time to catch up on your streaming stuff.”

“Make sure to tip your food delivery people, but don’t touch them,” he added.

Oswalt said he was inspired by the videos coming out of Italy, which has seen the largest outbreak outside of China and has been under lockdown since March 10. Currently, all schools and shops with the exception of pharmacies and supermarkets have been closed, and citizens have been coming together on their balconies to sing for their neighbors amid the crisis.

“Watching the videos from Italy inspired me,” Oswalt tweeted. “Entertainers must offer hope & humor to their neighbors in this time of quarantine.”

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As of Monday morning, there have been nearly 25,000 confirmed cases and some 1,800 deaths in Italy, according to NPR. The national lockdown is currently set to remain in place until April 3.

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic last week, urging world leaders and citizens to take action to help stop the spread.

President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency over the pandemic. There are now at least 3,602 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., and 66 people in the country have died from coronavirus-related illness. Many states and cities have closed schools, including New York City, the largest school district in the country.