Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have been diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus while in Australia for the pre-production of an untitled Elvis Presley movie.
“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches,” Hanks wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening. “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 do we do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed,” the A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood actor continued. “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.”
Hanks and Wilson have been married since 1988.
The announcement followed President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address to the nation regarding his administration’s response to the spread of the deadly illness nationwide. The president announced that the United States will bar travel from European countries for 30 days beginning at midnight on Friday in an effort to prevent additional coronavirus cases from the continent.
“After consulting with our top government health professionals, I have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all Americans,” he stated. “These prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing.”
Trump said he is also instructing the Small Business Administration to provide low-interest loans to small businesses affected by the coronavirus and asking Congress to increase funding for this program by $50 million and provide Americans with immediate payroll tax relief.
The briefing came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 31 Americans have died from the COVID-19 outbreak and more than 1,000 have been sickened.
Trump warned that the highest risk remains among the elderly population with underlying health conditions and strongly advised nursing homes for the elderly to suspend all medically unnecessary visits and encouraged older people to avoid unnecessary travel.
“Smart action today will prevent the spread of the virus tomorrow,” Trump said.
The UPI contributed to this report.
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