Celebrities Take Precautions After Tom Hanks Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Hollywood reacts as the Oscar winner announces that he and wife Rita Wilson tested positive for COVID-19

On Wednesday evening, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, 63, announced on his social media accounts that he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson 63, both tested positive for COVID-19.

“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,” he posted on his Twitter account.

Hanks, who was in Australia working on an untitled Baz Luhrmann film, went on to say that he and his wife will be quarantined as they get medical attention and “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?”

This underscores that not even celebrities, whom the public always imagines in a bubble of privilege, are exempt from Coronavirus. For this reason, stars are taking steps to avoid contracting the virus, which has infected 81,000 and killed 2,760 worldwide, with most cases and deaths in China. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson have shared photos of themselves wearing face masks, while musicians BTS, Green Day and Avril Lavigne have canceled tour stops in Asia. For his part, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was supposed to host bodybuilding competition and an expo for March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio, had to change his plans when the state’s health department announced they could not allow spectators to attend.

At the same time, some celebrities are going all out when it comes to protecting themselves. America’s Got Talent (AGT) judge and famous germaphobe Howie Mandel arrived at the show’s taping wearing a full hazmat suit with mask and breathing tube, which some took as a joke. But while AGT continues to have live audiences, the Wendy Williams Show, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have temporarily halted the practice.