Tom Hanks has announced he and wife Rita Wilson have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The 63-year-old Oscar-winning actor has been in Australia
filming a forthcoming Elvis Presley biopic and said he started experiencing
symptoms of the virus.
Hanks said he felt like he had a cold, while Wilson, also
63, suffered from chills.
They have both subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.
In a statement that he shared with his followers on social
media, the Hollywood actor wrote: "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 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?"
Tom signed off the statement with: "We’ll keep the
world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves! Hanx!"
Hanks, a two-time Oscar winner and star of films including
Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and The Post, is the highest profile
Hollywood figure to be diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus, which is sweeping the
world.
Moments before Hanks posted on social media, Donald Trump addressed the US and announced a host
of new measures, notably suspending all travel from Europe, excluding the UK,
for 30 days starting from Friday.
Mr Trump made the announcement in an Oval Office address to
the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address
the outbreak of the virus and saying US clusters were "seeded" by
European travellers.
The president said the US would monitor the situation to
determine if travel could be reopened earlier.
Mr Trump said "we are marshalling the full power"
of the government and private sector to protect the American people.
The Covid-19 virus has infected 115,800 people worldwide and
at least 1,000 people in the United States have been affected.
China has seen the most infections, with 80,793 people
reportedly suffering with the illness.
The virus has killed over 4,200 people worldwide with 3,169 of these deaths being in China.
