Tom Hanks tests positive for coronavirus while in Australia
<p>Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for coronavirus while in Australia, the actor announced in an Instagram post.</p>
<p>“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia,” he wrote.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Hanks continued, “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!”</p>
<p>Hanks is currently on the Gold Coast filming Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic.</p>
<p>Production on the film, based at Oxenford Studio on the northern Gold Coast, has been shut down. In a letter to crew and actors this morning, Luhrmann revealed a crew member had tested positive for coronavirus and advised them to stay at home.</p>
<blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9nVasnBNF5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12">
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<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9nVasnBNF5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">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></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tomhanks/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Tom Hanks</a> (@tomhanks) on Mar 11, 2020 at 6:08pm PDT</p>
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<p>“We request all cast and crew stay at home today and not come to work,” he said in a letter seen by the<span> </span><em>Gold Coast Bulletin</em>.</p>
<p>“All work activity on the production is cancelled and will not resume until further notice. We appreciate everyone’s co-operation and we will be following up with more details over the next several hours.”</p>
<p>In the film, Hanks is playing Presley’s long-time manager Colonel Tom Parker.</p>
<p>Warner Bros. also issued a statement, saying:</p>
<p>“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).</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment.”</p>