Popular American actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for coronavirus.
Hank, 63, made this known on his official Instagram page saying,
Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. 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.
Well, now. 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?
We’ll keep the world posted and updated.
Take care of yourselves!
Hanx!
Hanks was in Queensland to work on an Elvis biopic with director Baz Luhrmann but the couple is now in a hospital on the Gold Coast.
The couple’s son Chet Hanks also took to social media to confirm his parents’ diagnosis.
In the video he posted, he said;
I just got off 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 appreciate everyone’s concern and well wishes but I think it’s going to be all right.
Warner Bros. Pictures, which is distributing the Elvis film, also released a statement.
The company’s spokesperson stated that;
We have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is in pre-production on the Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus). 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 individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment.
Last Thursday, Rita Wilson, who is also a singer, performed on stage to an audience at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane’s South Bank.
PHOTO: Dozens of people paid $175 a head to watch Rita Wilson perform in Brisbane last week. (Supplied: Kylie Lang)Hanks was among those watching on, and dozens of people who paid to watch Rita Wilson perform in Brisbane.
Emporium Hotel General manager Charles Martin has, however, reassured hotel guests, staff, and visitors saying they had cleaned the room in which Wilson performed and any associated areas.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she wished the couple a speedy recovery, adding that contact tracing within the production team had already begun.
She stated that;
People who have come in close contact with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson will now need to self isolate and quarantine. Self-isolating means staying in your apartment or your house — it doesn’t mean going down to the shops and getting a bottle of milk or anything like that.
Queensland has 20 other confirmed cases of coronavirus and almost 3,000 people in self-isolation at home.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has officially declared Coronavirus a pandemic, after the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold in the past two weeks.
The announcement came as new figures from Italy showed the death rate among coronavirus patients in that country was over 6 percent, higher than the global average of about 3.6 percent.
The coronavirus, which emerged in China in December, has spread around the world, halting industry, bringing flights to a standstill, closing schools and forcing the postponement of sporting events and concerts.
Now there are over 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people have died, with the numbers expected to climb.
