Tom Hanks says he ‘feels better’ two weeks after coronavirus symptoms began

Actor also urged people to ‘shelter’ and ‘give up home comforts’ to fight the spread of the virus

Tom Hanks has shared an update on his health after contracting coronavirus, reassuring fans that he and his wife Rita Wilson “feel better” two weeks after first experiencing symptoms.

The actor has been in isolation in Australia after announcing he tested positive for the illness earlier this month.

In a Twitter post on Sunday (22 March), he wrote: “Hey, folks. Two weeks after our first symptoms and we feel better. Sheltering in place works like this: You don’t give it to anyone – you don’t get it from anyone. Common sense, no?

“Going to take a while, but if we take care of each other, help where we can, and give up some comforts… this, too, shall pass. We can figure this out.”

Hanks was in Australia to film Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley biopic, in which he will star opposite Austin Butler as the singer’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Read more

The film – as well as every other in Hollywood – has shut down production after Trump declared a “national emergency” and both Italy and Spain went into lockdown.​ Hanks is the highest-profile celebrity to be diagnosed with coronavirus. Others include Idris Elba, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta and Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju.

Find a list of every film and TV show cancelled or delayed by coronavirus here.

As the coronavirus situation intensifies around the world, many are pointing to TV shows and books that have seemingly predicted several things correctly.

A book that recently made headlines for seemingly predicting the coronavirus outbreak was Dean Koontz’s Eyes of Darkness, while another – released in 2008 – went viral for saying an illness would spread globally “around 2020”.

The Simpsons has also been highlighted for its accurate depiction of a global pandemic, while a clip from British sitcom Yes Minister went viral for mirroring the response of the British government.

Meanwhile, 2011 virus thriller Contagion has become one of most-watched films online in wake of the global pandemic.

Additional reporting by Agencies