Tom Hanks Says He Has Coronavirus

Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks said he and his wife, Rita Wilson, “will be tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.”
Tom Hanks said he and his wife, Rita Wilson, “will be tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.”Credit…Noel West for The New York Times

Tom Hanks said on Wednesday that he and his significant other, Rita Wilson, learned they had the coronavirus. The 63-year-old Academy Award-winning entertainer is in Australia, where he was set to film a film about the life of Elvis Presley.

“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia,” Mr. Hanks said in a statement. “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.”

He added that he and Ms. Wilson “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,” he said.

Mr. Hanks is assuming the job of Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s unconventional administrator, who prepared the celebrated vocalist to fame during the 1950s. Creation on the movie, which is being coordinated by Baz Luhrmann, is set to start on Monday.

“The health and safety of our company members are always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world,” Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, said on Facebook.