Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson become first A-listers to test positive for COVID-19

March 12th 2020, 8:52am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Showing that the growing coronavirus pandemic doesn't care about gender, race or economic class, the world was stunned by the news that Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, tested positive for COVID-19. The actor broke the news on his personal Instagram page last night.

Both performers have been in Australia for pre-production on the Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis Presley film being made for Warner Bros. Hanks is playing Presley's longtime manager Colonel Tom Parker in the film. Warner Bros. was notified that someone on the production had been diagnosed with coronavirus and said that they were monitoring the situation. It was soon after this discovery that Tom Hanks confirmed the news himself in the following Instagram post:

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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

The news of Hanks & Wilson testing positive came as a wave of coronavirus news seemed to hit the industry. Moments before the announcement, the news broke that the CW hit series Riverdale closed down production because it came out that someone on set had come in contact with an individual who had tested positive for the virus. No word yet on when the Vancouver production will get back to work. Even before that news broke, it was revealed that Juventus footballer and teammate of Cristian Ronaldo, Daniele Rugani, had tested positive for coronavirus and was being treated accordingly. The day was then capped off when Utah Jazz basketball player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus right before the start of their game which quickly resulted in the decision to suspend the current NBA season until further notice.

As for Hanks & Wilson, their son Chet Hanks took to Instagram to also confirm the news and wanted to assure fans that they will be ok & that the family was thankful for the prayers & well-wishes:

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A post shared by ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?§ ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?¡ðÂÂ?Â?ðÂÂ?¦ ðÂ?Â?¯ðÂ?Â?² (@chethanx) on Mar 11, 2020 at 7:16pm PDT

I think I’m not alone in the believe that Tom Hanks seems like one of the nicest guys working in the industry today soI just want to send out well-wishes to him & his family & whether or not you believe this is overblown or as dire as it's being reported, I'm going to just say be safe out there, take proper precautions but live your life accordingly. Can't stop living your life but always air on the side of caution.