Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, wife Rita test positive for coronavirus
Academy-award winning Hollywood actor Tom Hanks has been infected by the novel coronavirus, which has taken the lives of more than 4,200 people worldwide. His wife Rita Wilson also tested positive for the virus. The power couple is in Australia where Hanks was set to work on a movie based on the life of rockstar Elvis Presley. Here's everything you need to know.
The news, which has taken the world by surprise, was shared by Hanks himself on social media. The acclaimed actor wrote he and Rita were feeling cold and tired, after which they got themselves tested. "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 wrote.
He added, "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 Hanks (@tomhanks) March 12, 2020
The untitled movie on Presley is being made under the banner of Warner Bros. In a statement, the production giant said, "The health and safety of our company members is always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world." Local reports suggested the Baz Luhrmann directorial has been suspended temporarily.
In the movie, Hanks was supposed to essay the role of Colonel Tom Parker, Presley's manager who had a major contribution in his stupendous stardom. According to Warner Bros. the movie spans over 20 years of Presley's life, with focus on his "unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and the loss of innocence in America."
After Hanks went public with the information, he became one of the topmost trending topics on Twitter, globally. Director Scott Derrickson tweeted, "If Tom Hanks was here in the states and not in Australia, he wouldn't have been able to get tested for the coronavirus. Trump's irreparable and catastrophic failure has been the way he deliberately blocked early testing. (sic)"
Meanwhile, the couple's son Chet took to social media to inform that the news was, in fact, correct. "Wassup everyone. Yea, its true my parents got coronavirus. Crazy. They both are fine. They're not even that sick. They're not worried about it. They're not trippin' but they're going through the necessary health precautions obviously," he said, adding that everything will turn out just fine.
Hanks is the most prominent personality to have contracted the virus, which originated in China last year. In the US, the number of cases has gone beyond 1,150 and it has started affecting the entertainment world. No live audience was present during the filming of shows like The View and Live With Kelly and Ryan, and the Coachella festival has also been postponed.
