Veteran Hollywood actor, Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and it was reported on Wednesday.
Hanks’ publicist later confirmed the news to the freelance journalist, Yashar Ali.
The World Health Organization officially classified coronavirus, which leads to a disease called COVID-19, as a pandemic on Wednesday.
Hanks had also taken to Twitter to announce the news.
“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia,” Hanks said in a statement to Deadline. “We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too.”
Hanks and his wife were in The Gold Coast, Australia, for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley film, in which Hanks stars as Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker, according to the deadline report.
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In the statement posted to Twitter, the actor said he and his wife were tested for the coronavirus after experiencing symptoms and came up positive.
“We Hanks’ will be tested observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires,” Hanks added in a statement. “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!”
Warner Bros. said in a statement that it is aware of the coronavirus case and will be “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 are always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world,” the production company said in the statement. “The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment.”
Hanks and Wilson’s son Chet responded to his parents’ diagnoses in a video, saying they both are “fine” and “not even that sick.”
The World Health Organization officially classified coronavirus, which leads to a disease called COVID-19, as a pandemic on Wednesday. More than 125,000 people have been infected across the globe and there have been more than 4,500 deaths
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