Actor Daniel Dae Kim revealed he has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in an Instagram post on Thursday along with a powerful message, condemning racism against Asian people. The 51-year-old Korean-American actor shared a 10-minute long video, in which he talked about going to a drive-through testing centre for his diagnosis, being in quarantine, keeping his family safe and most importantly made a plea to stop any sort of prejudice against Asians. The coronavirus was first detected at a seafood marked in China's Wuhan and it quickly spread from there, infecting over 245,700 cases worldwide and claiming over 10,000 lives.
In the video, Daniel Dae Kim revealed he had been shooting for the medical drama series New Amsterdam in New York for the past few weeks and once the production stopped due to the outbreak of the pandemic, he flew back home to Hawai. On his way back, he felt itchiness in his throat and feverish, after which he quarantined himself and was later diagnosed with the virus.
He is currently recuperating at home and his family members have been tested negative.
Castigating racism, the Lost actor said: "Yes, I'm Asian. And yes, I have coronavirus. But I did not get it from China, I got it in America. In New York City," and added: "Despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don't consider the place where it's from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did, I would call this thing the 'New York virus,' but that would be silly, right?" Just a few days ago, US President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" in his speech and later defended his comment by saying: "It did come from China, so I think it's very accurate."
"Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people... Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian Americans, is cowardly, heartbreaking and it's inexcusable," Daniel Dae Kim added. Racist violence against the Asian community have been reported in New York, other US states and in cities across the world.
Daniel Day Kim shared his video with this note: "My experience fighting the coronavirus. Hi everyone- yesterday I was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Looks like I'll be ok, but I wanted share my journey with you in the hopes that you find it informative or helpful. Hope you all stay safe, calm, and above all, healthy."
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were the first celebrities to announce they had tested positive for the virus. Game Of Thrones actors Indira Varma and Kristofer Hivju, James Bond star Olga Kurylenko, actor Idris Elba and Frozen 2 voice actor Rachel Matthews also revealed their coronavirus diagnoses later.
