Apple’s Tim Cook and Eddy Cue may have been exposed to COVID-19

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue may have been exposed to COVID-19 after attending a birthday party for Universal Music Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge. After testing positive for coronavirus, Grainge has been hospitalized and is currently receiving treatment at Los Angeles’ UCLA Medical Center, Variety reports, citing multiple sources.

Matt Donnelly and Jem Aswad for Variety:

Word of Grainge’s illness has rattled West Coast power players who attended his 60th birthday celebration on Feb. 29 in Palm Springs, multiple industry insiders said.

The likes of Apple CEO Tim Cook, veteran music manager Irving Azoff, and Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue attended the party 15 days ago as of Sunday, said sources. Symptoms of COVID-19, including fever and shortness of breath, can appear up to two weeks after infection.

The event was held at La Quinta’s Madison Club, an enclave of private residences on a pristine golf course… Communal facilities at the Madison Club have been shut down in response to Grainge’s illness, said two people familiar with the matter. This includes the lush golf course and club house, said insiders.

MacDailyNews Take: Or they may not have been exposed. That this was 15 days ago and presumably Cook and Cue are still negative, is a good sign. According to the Mayo Clinic, a COVID-19 infection may appear 2-14 days after exposure and can include fever, cough, and shortness of break or difficulty breathing.

Because a person can be infected and not know it and because older people and those with compromised immune systems are more vulnerable to complications from contracting COVID-19, that is why we now avoid mass gatherings, practice social distancing, wash our hands, etc. We must all do our part to help control the spread and depress the rate of infections so that our hospitals, respiratory equipment, doctors, and nurses are not overwhelmed. Until we all get past this, anyone going out to “party” in packed nightclubs, bars, restaurants, etc. that remains open now is either ignorant or criminally selfish.

If you haven’t already or if you know someone who’s in denial, please read/pass along the CDC’s guide on how to protect yourself and others from the COVID-19 coronavirus.