A recent victim of the Zika virus, Beenie Man was unable to get a Canadian visa, thus missing his headlining performance at Drake’s OVO Fest.
The dancehall great known as Beenie Man has contracted the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Due to the illness, he was forced to cancel his co-headlining performance at OVO Fest in Toronto tonight. Though it’s thought that he’s currently being treated, the Jamaican artist explained that part of the reason he missed the festival was because the Canadian government denied his Visa request due to his virus. He shared news of his condition and apologized to his fans for missing OVO Fest in a heartfelt Instagram post.
In the caption of the post, Beenie Man revealed that he’s currently being treated with blood tests, injections, and pills. He also claims to have been infected with the dengue virus by the same mosquito that gave him Zika. He ended the post by praising Haile Selassie and affirming to his fans, “Wi a hol firm still.”
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Today being Caribana in Toronto, Beenie Man was set to perform alongside the king of soca, Trinidad’s Machel Montano. In Beenie’s absence, Montano brought out Caribbean all-stars like Kranium, Sean Paul, and Mavado.
Zika virus has quickly become an epidemic in the Americas. The virus has become prevalent in many parts of South and Central America, as well as Beenie’s native Caribbean.
Although the virus is very dangerous for pregnant women due to the high risk of birth defects, according to the Centre for Disease Control, the average infected person will experience few to no symptoms.
