Naomi Campbell wanted to feel "protected and comfortable" when she wore a full hazmat suit during a flight from Los Angeles to New York City.
The 49-year-old model was spotted this week walking through LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal wearing a hazmat suit, goggles, a facial mask and rubber gloves, in an attempt to make herself as safe as possible from the spread of coronavirus.
And Naomi has now said she chose such extreme safety measures because she wanted to feel "comfortable" knowing she wouldn’t pick up the virus by touching any surfaces that may have been harbouring germs.
In a YouTube video on her popular ‘Being Naomi’ channel – which People magazine got a first look at – she explained: "This is it. This is my precaution. What do you think? In all honesty, this is not a funny time. It’s not a humorous time. I’m not doing this for laughs. This is how I feel comfortable traveling."
After making it to New York safely, Naomi resumed filming to let her fans know that people had been avoiding her during her flight because of her unusual outfit.
She said: "Made it back to New York all in one piece. That was a very surreal journey for me. I have to say, when I got on the plane people moved away from me. There was a guy sitting in front of me, he moved to the right. There was a guy sitting behind me, he moved to the right. Everybody didn’t want to be around me but that’s cool – I didn’t want to be around them either!
"But in all seriousness, I think we must take every precaution that makes us protected and comfortable. I’m definitely going to be keeping traveling to a minimum."
Naomi also expressed concerns for her friends who live overseas, as well has her two grandmothers, whom she said are safe inside amid the outbreak.
The model urged people to follow the advice given out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and their government, and do whatever they can to make themselves "feel comfortable" whilst out in public.
She added: "I think all of the precautions told to you by the officials, you do. And anything else you feel you need to do, you do. Anything else that makes you feel comfortable in public spaces, you do."