Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus, (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Tom Hanks and his actress-singer wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus, the actor said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hanks said the couple were in Australia and felt tired, with colds, body aches and slight fevers. “To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus and were found to be positive,” Hanks said.
The 63-year-old Oscar-winner said they will be “tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.”
“Not much more to it than a one-day-a-time approach, no?” added Hanks.
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) March 12, 2020
Hanks’ son Collin Hanks took to social media to express gratitude “for the outpouring of support from everyone”. He shared, “My parents are receiving excellent care in Australia and are doing well (and in good spirits) given the circumstances. Despite the fact that I’m in LA and haven’t seen them in over three weeks, we have been in constant contact and am confident they will make a full recovery.”
Chet Hanks also took to Instagram to share an update about his parent’s health. “My parents got coronavirus. Crazy. They are both down in Australia right now because my dad was shooting a movie down there, but I just got off the phone with them. They both are fine. They are not even that sick. They are not worried about it. They are not tripping, but they are going through the necessary health precautions, obviously,” he said in an Instagram video.
Tom Hanks had been in Australia shooting an untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. Hanks plays Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The film is currently slated for release in October 2021.
Hanks and Wilson, 63, were married in 1988. In 2013, Hanks disclosed that he has type 2 diabetes.
Tom Hanks also posted his message on social media with an image of a surgical glove in a garbage can. He signed off saying: “Take care of yourselves!”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.