Hanks, who along wife Rita Wilson tested positive for coronavirus in March while filming in Australia. Video / CNN
Actor Tom Hanks has given fans a reassuring update a day after he and wife Rita Wilson announced that they'd both been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The A-list pair, who are in Australia as Hanks films an Elvis Presley biopic on the Gold Coast, say they are "taking it one-day-at-a-time".
"RitaWilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us," Hanks wrote in a note posted to his official Twitter and Instagram accounts today alongside a selfie of the pair in good spirits:
"We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time.
"There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?"
Hanks finished by paraphrasing one of his most famous big screen lines, from the 1992 hit A League of Their Own: "Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball."
The couple are staying on the Gold Coast, but had on Monday visited Nine's Sydney studios so Wilson could appear on Today Extra with hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell, news.com.au reports.
Campbell and Russell have both since gone into self-isolation since news broke that Wilson had been infected.
Appearing on Today this morning remotely from home, Campbell criticised the Federal and State governments for their response to the crisis, saying "they need to fix their messaging".
"It is also fixing the messaging on how long you need to isolate and contact as you have tried to clear up this morning. Self-isolation is where you have to lock yourself down. I can't leave my home now for what seems like 14 days on the advice of the Royal North Shore Hospital and the fantastic nurses there," said Campbell, who said he was also practising "self-distancing" at home, staying away from his wife and children.
Russell revealed that she'd found the coronavirus test — involving an 8cm swab put up each nostril — a surprisingly painful experience.
"It really surprised me how painful it was. The nurse did say to me, 'Now, this is going to be painful and you'll cry.' I thought, "I've had three babies, so let's see. Surely it won't be that painful that I'm not going to cry." But it was surprising to me. It's quick, but it kind of stings a little bit and it kind of stings a little bit and it goes in quite a way."
