Jakub and Dawid Mycek-Kwiecinski, a gay married couple in Poland, are fighting coronavirus and LGBTQ stigma by handing out free rainbow face masks to the public.
Wrote Jakub and Dawid, who also have a YouTube channel, in a Facebook post: “Many people call gay people a plague, so we thought we might change their mind by helping people overcome a real plague. We borrowed grandma’s sewing machine and started sewing masks to offer them for free on the streets. Our masks are unique because they are all rainbow! Our friends, dressmakers, were able to help us create 300, which we brought to the streets.”
In a later post, Jakub and Dawid wrote, “How do you feel in this new masked reality? We try to be optimistic. We are delighted that our action to distribute rainbow masks has been met with such enthusiasm, but above all we hope that many people will be able to protect themselves from the virus.”
GSN reports: “It’s not the first time the Mycek-Kwiecinski’s have become a viral hit. They first came to fame for their lip-sync video of Roxette’s Some Other Summer. And in 2017, their Christmas song celebrating LGBT+ families became a surprise number one in Poland. However, while the couple married in Spain, Poland does not recognize their relationship as same-sex marriage is illegal. Moreover, Jakub says he lost his job as a TV presenter because national broadcaster TVP fired him for being gay.”
Poland saw its largest spike in coronavirus cases on Sunday, Reuters reports: “Parks and forests will be reopened on Monday and limits on the numbers of people allowed in shops will be eased, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday. But many restrictions, such as covering one’s mouth and nose when outside and wearing plastic gloves in grocery stores, as well as school closures will remain in place. As of Sunday, Poland had 9,287 confirmed cases and 360 deaths. The health ministry on Sunday said it had carried out around 11,200 tests over the course of the last day.”
