Cardi B is expressing her thoughts about the cost of coronavirus testing and who may be gaining a profit at the expense of others.
"I get COVID tested bout 4 times a week," the star, 28, wrote on Twitter Wednesday. "My glam and management gotta get tested as well. Every time we get tested is about 250$ each. This is seriously a new business."
Some Twitter users reacted to Cardi's reveal to express their concern, with one person writing, "I thought they were free … that's crazy."
"It's free when you go to the doctors and s— but when it's for work and you gotta have people test you at your home is [sic] not," the Grammy-winner detailed. She also responded to a since-deleted tweet from a Twitter user who likely questioned whether such frequent testing is required.
"It's necessary because if you in my space and you get COVID, I can get sued," she noted.
"If I do a commercial and I get COVID, the company can get sued," she further explained. "It's all about not being a liability and is a requirement. The government should be paying for health care workers [but] we pay out our own pockets."
One person who self-identified as a nurse seemingly misunderstood Cardi's initial statement and clapped back, "Atleast [sic] you have the luxury, I'm a nurse working on a COVID floor. You know how many times they test us?"
Cardi further emphasized that she was not venting about safety protocol, but rather about what she considers capitalistic gain that some may be receiving at the cost of those like her, who must be tested regularly and pay for each test out-of-pocket.
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"Well this tweet is not about complaining is [sic] about CAPITALISM! How COVID is becoming a business and if this was part of the plan 🧐," she wrote. "How ya getting mad at me because it's a requirement to get tested? Just to shoot a commercial, even the janitors must get tested twice."
In addition to the cost of testing, many have expressed that the test is very painful, as it often involves intrusive nasal testing. Some say it feels as the swab is nearly approaching the eye socket.
But while they physical feeling of the test is often unpleasant, the importance of staying safe is more crucial. Just two weeks ago on Jan. 12, more than 4,400 individuals died in the U.S. alone, marking the highest COVID-19 related death toll on a single day in the U.S. thus far. Last Tuesday, it was confirmed that more than 400,000 people have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19 related complications.
The U.S. has been continually breaking its own record for coronavirus hospitalizations for months. In mid-January, the number of COVID-19 related hospitalization had slowly begun to decline. But as of Monday, there were more than 110,000 Americans hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
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 the 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.
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