Hollywood star Tom Hanks and his actress wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for coronavirus, the actor announced on Twitter this morning. He said the couple is in Australia at present.
Tom Hanks said he and Rita Wilson, who are both 63, came down with a fever while in Australia and will now be isolated and monitored.
"We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive," he wrote on Twitter and Instagram, along with a photo of a surgical glove placed inside a biohazard trash bag.
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) March 12, 2020
The star couple will now be isolated and monitored, he said.
"What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks' will be tested observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?" the actor wrote.
Tom Hanks is the first major Hollywood star to publicly state that he has the virus that is sweeping around the world, infecting over 1.25 lakh people in 100-plus countries and killing over 4,000.
The couple had been on the Gold Coast, where Tom Hanks was working on a film about the life of Elvis Presley.
"I just of the phone with them. They both are fine. They're not even that sick. They're not worried about it. They're not tripping but they're going through the necessary health precautions obviously. I don't think it's anything to be too worried about. I appreciate everyone's concern and the well-wishers. But I think it's all going to be alright," their son Chet Hanks said in a video on Instagram.
Warner Bros, which is producing the film, said in a statement without naming Tom Hanks, "We have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is currently in pre-production in The Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19."
"We are working closely with the appropriate Australian health agencies to identify and contact anyone who may have come in direct contact with the individual
"The health and safety of our company members is always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world," the studio said. The Warner Bros statement did not mention Hanks. It was not immediately clear if filming on the project would be postponed due to the actor's illness.
Australia, where Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were tested positive, has 136 confirmed cases of coronavirus and three deaths. The country on Thursday unveiled a massive US $11 billion spending plan designed to curb the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and avert the country's first recession in 29 years. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the nearly Australian $18 billion package - equivalent to just under one percent of GDP - which will primarily be targeted at businesses.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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