• J.K. Rowling is hoping a dash of Harry Potter will help families confined to their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The author has launched an online initiative, www.harrypotterathome.com, which features quizzes, games and other activities. For the month of April, Rowling also has partnered with the audio publisher-distributor Audible and the library e-book supplier OverDrive for free audio and digital editions of the first Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (The U.S. edition is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Rowling's British and American print publishers, Bloomsbury and Scholastic, will contribute materials to the Potter website and to their own websites. "The teachers, parents and carers working to keep children's lives as normal and happy as possible while we're all on lockdown deserve a bit of magic," Rowling said in a statement Wednesday. "I hope these initiatives will give children and even adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay-at-home time."
• For most people, the coronavirus is no laughing matter. But the Korean star known as Jaejoong of the K-pop group JYJ is being sharply criticized after he decided to pretend to have the virus Wednesday in a misfired attempt at an April Fools' Day joke. Jaejoong, whose real name is Kim Jae-joong, made the claim on his Instagram account, which had nearly 2 million followers, saying he became infected because he "lived carelessly" and apologized "to those who could have been infected because of me." His legions of fans reacted with shock and concern. Social media lit up with expressions of support. News outlets and K-pop fan sites immediately covered the announcement. Jaejoong would have been among the biggest celebrities to become infected. South Korea was an early hot spot for the virus and had 9,887 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, including 165 deaths. Then, he confessed to the prank less than an hour later. His fans' support was quickly replaced with widespread anger. "How can you pull a prank like this when the situation right now is so serious?" one fan responded on Instagram. "It's really disappointing." Hours after the deluge of criticism, he deactivated the account, writing that he would "accept all punishments that I would get for this post." His label, C-JeS Entertainment, told the news website Allkpop that it "just came across the post now. We will check on the matter." Authorities in South Korea have said misinformation related to the virus would fall under laws on obstruction of official duties and defamation, according to The Korea Herald. It was not immediately clear how or if that would apply to the pop star.
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A Section on 04/02/2020