Coronavirus odd couples that make the world a little brighter

A famous fashion designer who doubles as a small-scale medical supplier in a major city? And he isn’t the only one who’s made such a turn? That’s hardly a familiar social order.

Then again, the novel coronavirus pandemic is an unusual and strained moment — one that’s scrambling society and people’s roles in it.

“If @NYGovCuomo says we need masks my team will help make some. I have a full sewing team still on staff working from home that can help,” the fashion designer Christian Siriano, who won Season 4 of the hit competition series “Project Runway,” tweeted a couple weeks ago.

He was responding to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s concern that New York City, which has become the most overwhelmed area in the US, doesn’t have enough face masks — among other supplies, including hospital beds and ventilators — to effectively confront the escalating crisis.

Cuomo accepted Siriano’s offer. And on Friday, Siriano shared a photo of the product, captioned: “Packed and ready 1000 masks and 1000 more in 2 more days!”

Another peculiar pairing: Cuomo and Rihanna.

The megastar retooled some of her considerable resources to help curb the virus’ devastation. In particular, she and her charity foundation donated personal protective equipment — which can include face shields, gloves, gowns and other wearables and equipment used to minimize contact with contagion — to the state of New York. (And that’s on top of the $5 million the foundation donated to fight Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.)

“I want to thank @rihanna and the Rihanna Foundation for donating Personal Protective Equipment to New York State,” Cuomo tweeted on Thursday. “We’re so appreciative of your help and that of so many others who have stepped up.”

Thousands of miles away, in his California estate, beloved Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry also rose to the occasion. On Thursday, he conducted an Instagram Live Q&A with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and a key member of the White House’s coronavirus task force.

Over the course of about 30 minutes, Fauci answered questions from the basketball player: How is Covid-19 different from the flu? What’s your assessment of the testing process? What does it mean to recover — can you get the virus a second time?

The easy-going conversation was the precise opposite of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings: accessible, enlightening, shorn of misleading statements.

Curry, then, essentially serving as a proxy for America’s anxious citizenry, effected a sort of justice: He used his cachet to illuminate vital information.

But this inspiring work also seems a bit sobering, doesn’t it?

For instance, the fact that Lady Gaga over the weekend had a “very good call” with Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization.

Indeed, in the absence of consistent, meaningful guidance from federal officials, the governed are attempting to govern themselves.