Jennifer Aniston Shares Heartbreaking Photo of Friend Fighting for His Life Due to Coronavirus
Jennifer Aniston is sharing a friend's harrowing experience with the novel coronavirus in an effort to encourage people to take precautions against COVID-19.
On Sunday, the Morning Show star, 51, shared a picture of her friend intubated and lying in a hospital bed, writing on her Instagram, "This is our friend Kevin. Perfectly healthy, not one underlying health issue. This is Covid. This is real."
"We can't be so naive to think we can outrun this...if we want this to end, and we do, right? The one step we can take is PLEASE #wearadamnmask," she continued. "Just think about those who've already suffered through this horrible virus. Do it for your family. And most of all yourself. Covid affects all ages."
According to the actress, the photo was taken in early April and her friend has, fortunately, "almost recovered now."
"Thank you all for your prayers 🙏🏼❤️," she added.
In her post, Aniston included a shot of herself with former Friends costar Courteney Cox wearing matching face masks.
A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston) on Jul 19, 2020 at 1:41pm PDT
RELATED: Jennifer Aniston Surprises Utah Nurse Who Contracted COVID-19: 'You're Just Phenomenal'
Cox, 56, also encouraged fans to do what they can to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus over the weekend, sharing a video of her dogs Harley and Hopper playing around in their own masks alongside some funny captions about wearing a protective face covering.
"Just put it on," one of the dogs was captioned saying to the other.
"No," the pooch responded, which lead the other one to say, "I'll make it worth your while."
The video then ended with Aniston and Cox cuddling with the two canines while all wearing masks. Cox kept the caption simple, writing a pink heart emoji alongside the sweet clip.
A post shared by Courteney Cox (@courteneycoxofficial) on Jul 18, 2020 at 10:54pm PDT
In late June, Aniston wrote on her Instagram that wearing a face mask "shouldn’t be a debate" amid the ongoing pandemic.
Sharing a photo of herself wearing a black face mask, the Friends alumna wrote, "I understand masks are inconvenient and uncomfortable. But don’t you feel that it’s worse that businesses are shutting down... jobs are being lost... health care workers are hitting absolute exhaustion. And so many lives have been taken by this virus because we aren’t doing enough."
"I really do believe in the basic goodness of people so I know we can all do this 🥰 BUT still, there are many people in our country refusing to take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, and keep each other safe," she continued. "People seem worried about their 'rights being taken away' by being asked to wear a mask. This simple and effective recommendation is being politicized at the expense of peoples’ lives. And it really shouldn’t be a debate 🙏🏼."
jennifer aniston/instagram Jennifer Aniston
Aniston concluded her note, "If you care about human life, please... just #wearadamnmask 😷 and encourage those around you to do the same ❤️."
As of Monday, there have been at least 3,814,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with more than 140,600 deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses, according to a New York Times database.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
