Married actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, both 63, have contracted the coronavirus according to Hanks himself on Twitter. The pair are reportedly in isolation in a hospital on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia and are expected to remain that way for fourteen days.
Hanks is in Australia production of Baz Luhrmann’s as-yet-untitled Elvis Presley movie for Warner Bros. Pictures with Wilson accompanying him and also performing songs from her new album at concerts.
The pair are two of seven new cases reported in Queensland on Thursday amongst a total of over 130 cases across Australia. People who have come in close contact with the couple will reportedly also need to self-isolate and quarantine, that includes the hosts of the morning talk show “Today Extra” who have already self-isolated.
An official from Queensland Health says all new reported infections are non-contact cases and that the patients are believed to have ‘contracted the illness outside Australia and travelled to Queensland with the virus’. The pair have been in Australia for at least a week prior to their diagnosis.
Their quarantine period has forced production to shut down for at least two weeks on Luhrmann’s film in which Hanks is due to play Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker. According to their sons Chet and Colin, Hanks and Wilson are doing well.
It’s unclear how many of the cast and crew have been in contact with Hanks, but all production personnel have been sent home and are awaiting instructions. Principal photography was due to start next Monday.
Other international productions are currently shooting in Australia, such as Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” are currently taking place and so far none of those has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: The New York Times
