Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have announced that they have tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus), the first celebrities to go public with a diagnosis.
Hanks and Wilson, both 63, revealed the news with a statement on Wednesday. The married couple was in Australia for production of Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley movie, in which Hanks is playing Presley’s iconic manager Colonel Tom Parker.
Read the statement below:
“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!”
Hanks and Wilson were the only known individuals on the film to contract the disease, insiders said. The film is currently in pre-production stages, meaning cameras have yet to roll, and is still making preparations to shoot. Testing measures for filmmakers and crew are presently unknown.
Warner Bros., the distributor behind the film, issued a statement shortly after Hanks and Wilson went public.
“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 (coronavirus),” the statement reads. “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.”
The news broke just as President Donald Trump announced a 30-day suspension on travel from Europe to the United States due to the spread of coronavirus. Earlier on Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
There have been more than 115,000 cases of coronavirus confirmed worldwide, and the disease has killed more than 4,200 people.
