Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson hospitalised on Gold Coast after testing positive to coronavirus
Hollywood star Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have sent a message to fans from coronavirus isolation in Australia.
Hollywood star Tom Hanks has spoken out from behind the walls of the Gold Coast hospital where he is in quarantine to tell fans that he and his wife are okay.
Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson began a 14-day quarantine in Gold Coast University Hospital on Thursday after they tested positive to coronavirus.
The Academy Award winner posted an update on his social media pages on Friday afternoon.
“Rita Wilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us,” he wrote.
“We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else.
“There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness.
“We are taking it one day at a time.
“There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?”
Hanks ended his post with a line from his 1992 film A League of Their Own.
“Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in Baseball,” he said.
Bid to trace stars’ movements
After rubbing shoulders just weeks ago with fellow A-listers including Renee Zellweger and Tom Ford, the movements of Hanks and Wilson in Australia are the latest twist in the battle to contain the spread of the virus.
As they began two weeks in isolation in the Gold Coast University Hospital on Thursday, health authorities began the painstaking task of tracing people from the Gold Coast to Sydney, including fans, who Hanks and Wilson may have come into contact with while infected with COVID-19.
The star couple have been back and forth between Australia and their home in the US in recent months, and health authorities believe they contracted the virus before returning to the country last week.
The 63-year-old actor has spent most of his time in Australia on the Gold Coast for preproduction of an Elvis Presley biopic with director Baz Luhrmann.
The diagnosis has sent the Nine Network into a spin after Wilson, who has performed sold-out shows as a singer in the past week in Brisbane and Sydney, appeared live in the station’s studio on Today Extra on Monday.
Karl Stefanovic filled in as the host of A Current Affair on Thursday night as a precaution for regular host Tracy Grimshaw, who has recently had surgery.
Wilson had her hair and makeup done in the same room Grimshaw uses as a dressing room.
Nine enacted its “crisis response plan”, cleaning the set and forcing Today Extra hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell, who interviewed Wilson, to self-isolate for two weeks, along with other crew members associated with the interview and on-set performance.
Nine’s entertainment editor Richard Wilkins will also take time off from work as a precaution after he spent time with Wilson during the week.
“Nine today has taken action in line with our crisis response plan around a visit to our studio by Ms Rita Wilson on Monday this week, for an appearance on Today Extra with David Campbell and Belinda Russell. Those who were in prolonged contact with Ms Wilson have been tested and are self-isolating for 14 days,” a Nine spokesman said.
Hanks confirmed the positive coronavirus test on Thursday morning and shared a post with his Facebook followers detailing how he and his wife of 32 years took the test as a precaution after they began feeling ill.
“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia,” Hanks wrote.
“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.”
Hanks said he and Wilson, also 63, were in isolation and following official protocols.
“We Hanks will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires,” the actor wrote.
“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!”
Wilson was photographed on February 27 at a fundraiser in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles alongside actors Renee Zellweger and Martin Short, designer Tom Ford and musician Nick Jonas.
According to the Health Department, the time between when a person is exposed to the virus and when symptoms first appear is typically five to six days, although it may range from two to 14 days.
The celebrity couple flew back to Australia last week ahead of a performance by Wilson at Brisbane’s Emporium Hotel on March 5. Hanks and their son Truman, 32, were in the crowd and reportedly enthusiastically greeted fans. The couple then travelled to Sydney for a performance at the Sydney Opera House last Saturday.
During his visit to Sydney, Hanks visited Bondi Beach and took a boat tour on Sydney Harbour with Wilson.
The Academy Award-winner has been greeting fans during his time in Australia, with photographs uploaded to social media showing the actor shaking hands with and embracing admirers.
Hanks is best known for his roles in Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away, while Wilson has appeared in films Sleepless in Seattle, Jingle All the Way and It’s Complicated.
Health authorities would consider Hanks to be more at risk of developing serious symptoms because he has type-2 diabetes.
The Village Roadshow studio in the Gold Coast suburb of Oxenford was shut down on Thursday morning following the diagnosis.
Warner Bros released a statement on Thursday morning saying a cast member on the Elvis film had tested positive for the virus and that precautions were being taken to ensure the safety of other crew members.
“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 statement said.
Hanks and Wilson were among seven people who tested positive for the virus in Queensland on Thursday.
All seven have recently travelled to Australia from overseas, or were in close contact with someone who had, and it is believed they contracted the virus outside of the country. Queensland Health Director-General John Wakefield said all seven people were in hospital as a precaution.
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