Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Have Contracted Coronavirus During Production of Elvis Presley Biopic in Australia

Every day is bringing sweeping changes to the entertainment industry at large as the coronavirus strain known as COVID-19 is spreading around the United States. But last night, it got more personal for beloved Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and producer Rita Wilson. The couple were confirmed to be the first major Hollywood stars to contract the virus, and they are now in quarantine down in Australia where Baz Luhrman‘s Elvis Presley biopic was in production.

Deadline got the news before Tom Hanks made the following post on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

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. 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!

A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) on Mar 11, 2020 at 6:08pm PDT

Warner Bros. Pictures released a brief statement about the situation, which will undoubtedly have an impact on other members of the film’s production crew:

“We have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is currently in pre-production in The Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus). 

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 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.

The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment.”

What makes COVID-19 that much harder to deal with is you could be spreading the virus and not have any symptoms, and by the time you feel sick, you’ve already given it to many others. That’s why we must all take the proper precautions to isolate ourselves as best as possible if coronavirus symptoms become apparent.

During this time period, as our government fails to be honest about the gravity of the situation and instead chooses to worry about the stock market instead of people, the population should start social distancing in order to slow and eventually stop the spread of this flu strain. If you don’t know how social distancing works, you can read up on it over here. In fact, South Korea’s institution of social distancing has already resulted in the number of new coronavirus cases dropping, and if the United States gets more serious about it now, they might be able to fight this infection more effectively before it gets dramatically worse.

We’ll keep you posted on how coronavirus continues to interrupt the entertainment industry. Stay safe out there, folks.

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