Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have been diagnosed with coronavirus. The 63-year-old Oscar winner is currently in Queensland, Australia filming Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic on Elvis Presley. He wrote on Instagram on Thursday that both he and Rita had been feeling unwell, and so decided to get tested. "We felt a bit tired, like we had colds and some body aches," Tom shared. "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!"
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The premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said on Thursday that health officials would now conduct contact tracing to determine who had been in close contact with the couple. "People who have come in close contact with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson will now need to self-isolate and quarantine," she confirmed to the Guardian.
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Famously approachable, Tom had been regularly posing for photos with fans during his stay. But the premier said she did not believe a selfie would constitute close contact. "Tom has been having a wonderful time on the Gold Coast and we are so lucky to have Tom in Queensland," she said.
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"But what it is, is people who have come in very close contact with him in recent days. [Our] experts will now work very closely with him, with Baz [Luhrmann] and all the cast, the crew and then they will isolate those people who have been in that close proximity. From what the chief health officer has told me it's over 15 minutes of being in very close contact, so a selfie wouldn't count as that."
She further said Tom and Rita would receive "the best treatment in our hospital". "I'm very confident with the physicians that we have that will be treating Tom and his wife and like I said we wish them all the very best for a speedy recovery," she said. "I know the thoughts of Queenslanders and all Australians are with Tom and Rita during this time."
