They were the first celebrities to go public with their positive Covid-19 testing and the news of their quarantine in Australia shocked us all - Tom Hanks after all is the most likeable man in Hollywood - but Tom and his wife Rita Wilson's battle with coronavirus is over.
After announcing their positive test results on March 12 and self-isolating down under ever since, Tom and Rita have returned to the US after their two-week period of self-quarantine; pictured driving in LA after flying home via a private jet.
When first confirming his diagnosis, the actor described how he and his wife were tested after experiencing mild symptoms. ‘Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia,’ he wrote. ‘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, ‘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!’
Tom and Rita had been in Australia whilst Tom worked on his newest role as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s manager in an upcoming Presley biopic directed by Baz Lurhmann. Rita - a singer and actress - had performed concerts at Brisbane's Emporium Hotel and the Sydney Opera House.
During his quarantine, Tom had posted regular updates about the experience, from details about their symptoms, uplifting messages and gratitude to their many well wishers.
In one Instagram post Tom said that his symptoms have remained pretty much the same. ‘Good news,’ he began. ‘One week after testing Positive, in self-isolation, the symptoms are much the same. No fever but the blahs.’
‘Folding the laundry and doing the dishes leads to a nap on the couch,’ he continued, joking that the downside has been his wife, Rita, beating him at cards. ‘Bad news: My wife @ritawilson has won 6 straight hands of Gin Rummy and leads by 201 points.’ The actor also referenced his previous update, in which he was roasted by his famous friends for using too much Vegemite, adding, ‘But I have learned not to spread my Vegemite so thick.’’
In another, the Oscar-winning actor explained that the couple were taking no chances, and thanked the Australian medical services for looking after them. Quoting his character Jimmy Duggan from classic film A League Of Their Own, he finished with 'There is no crying in baseball.'
Meanwhile Rita shared her own isolation updates, including a video flawlessly rapping along to Naughty by Nature's 1992 hit Hop Hop Hooray. Captioned ‘Quarantine Stir Crazy See it to believe it [sic],’ the video was a huge hit with fans, including Barack Obama, who commented ‘Drop the mic, Rita!’.
Several other celebrities have been tested positive in the past few weeks, from Idris Elba - who cited Tom Hanks as inspiration for coming forward with the news - to Hawaii Five-0 actor Daniel Dae Kim and French actress and Bond star Olga Kurylenko.
Many other celebrities are also taking to social media to urge people to social distance, remain under lockdown warnings and wash their hands, including Contagionstars Kate Winslet and Matt Damon. Elsewhere, celebrities from Angelina Jolie to Rihanna are donating millions of dollars to help health officials and vulnerable people during the outbreak.
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