Contestants on Germany's Big Brother have finally been told about the coronavirus pandemic.
Until now, the show's housemates were unaware of the critical nature of the outbreak, with countries now closing their borders and restricting travel in order to contain the disease.
Germany currently has over 9,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 24 people have died after testing positive for the disease.
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As a result, the broadcaster SAT.1 was heavily criticised by fans and critics across the world for not informing the housemates about the scale of the outbreak.
But in tonight's episode, producers informed those in the house of the situation, causing some to breakdown in tears.
The housemates were all brought together in the main room where they were shown a video about how the virus had spread throughout the word and how bars and restaurants had been closed in some places.
According to viewers, they were then told the reason they were no longer hearing audience applause was because of the restrictions imposed on large groups.
A doctor then explained the situation in more depth, including how it was being spread and the importance of people washing their hands thoroughly, demonstrating the best practice.
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Contestants were also informed of the fact that there is currently no vaccine.
After that, Big Brother put up videos from their friends and family members and assured that should anyone on the outside become sick, they would be informed and allowed to leave.
Unsurprisingly, some contestants felt overwhelmed by the situation.
Ahead of tonight's episode, a spokesperson for all of the international versions of the show responded to criticism for its handling over the issue, standing by their decision not to inform contestants straight away.
They said: "The health and wellbeing of Big Brother Housemates is our priority. All current productions were informed last week that the usual format rules regarding outside news do not apply in this instance, and it was requested that they inform their respective housemates of the evolving situation regarding Covid-19.
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"The majority of the Housemates have already been briefed and this process will complete today (17 March)."
Yesterday (16 March), a video began doing the rounds on social media of messages a group of quarantined Italians had recorded with messages for their younger selves, warning of what lies ahead as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
The videos have been put together and shared by a Milan-based creative group called 'A Thing By'.
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Stitching together messages from multiple people across the country, the video describes what life is like for them and how they wish they had their time over again so they could take it seriously and treat the crisis with respect.
The video then ends with a simple but powerful message: "We underestimated this. You don't have to do the same. Stay at home."
It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organisation on Coronavirus, click here.
Topics: Science, Interesting, Health