Tom Hanks shares update from coronavirus self-isolation: 'We're all in this together'

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Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Tom Hanks says he, Rita Wilson test positive for new coronavirus
Tom Hanks said in a social media post that he and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for COVID-19.

Tom Hanks says he is "much the same" nearly a week after the actor announced he and his wife Rita Wilson were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

In a tweet late Tuesday, Hanks said his symptoms remain constant, adding that he has no fever but is suffering from "the blahs."

"Folding the laundry and doing the dishes leads to a nap on the couch," he wrote. "Bad news: My wife has won 6 straight games of Gin Rummy and leads by 201 points. But I have learned not to spread my Vegemite so thick."

Hanks accompanied the tweet with a photo of a Corona typewriter that he joked he "used to love."

He concluded: "We are all in this together. Flatten the curve."

When Hanks announced his diagnosis last week, he said he and Wilson had felt tired, with colds, aches and slight fevers. "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 said, adding they'll be "isolated for as long as public health and safety requires."

Australian officials said the couple were being treated at a Queensland hospital. "We wish them a very speedy recovery," state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters.

Later Thursday night, Hanks tweeted an update with a photo of himself and Wilson, thanking the medical team in Australia treating them. They have since returned home to self-quarantine.

"There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a time," he wrote, ending with "Remember, despite all the current events there is no crying in baseball."

Hanks had been in Australia shooting an untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. Hanks plays Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The film, slated for release in October 2021, has suspended production, Warner Bros. said.

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The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. People with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover, WHO says.