Celebrities who tested positive for coronavirus
Looks like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande were right to caution their fans about the coronavirus pandemic: Everyone who is able to stay home amid the spread of the COVID-19 virus should do so.
Not even your favorite celebrities are immune. Since Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson confirmed their diagnoses in Australia, the question became a matter of when other famous faces would come down with the virus next, not if.
Even Heidi Klum, who says she could not get a hold of a test, revealed she’d been experiencing symptoms.
Here’s some celebrity who said they tested positive for coronavirus:
Idris Elba
This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 16, 2020
“This morning I tested positive for Covid 19,” he captioned a video on Twitter on Monday, March 16. “I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic.”
Sabrina Dhowre
On March 21, Elba’s wife, Sabrina Dhowre, revealed she also tested positive for COVID-19.
“As soon as I heard that Idris was potentially exposed, I was on my way anyway and I wanted to be with him. I think that’s an instinct as a wife; you just want to go and take care,” Dhowre told Oprah Winfrey for Oprah Talks COVID-19 on Apple TV+. “We didn’t change the way we interacted. I could have made a decision to put myself in a separate room or maybe stay away, and I’m sure people are making those decisions; they’re tough decisions to make. But I made the decision to want to be with him and still touch him.”
Dynamo
Magician Dynamo, who has underlying health conditions, revealed he had suffered “severe symptoms” of COVID-19.
The TV star suffers from both Crohn’s disease and arthritis, putting him at a greater risk of becoming seriously ill.
He said he had tested positive after taking a private test due to the fact he was considered high risk.
In a video message posted on 2 April, he warned: “This illness can affect anyone, it doesn’t discriminate and it can present itself in many different ways. We’re all genuinely at risk.”
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
The Hollywood couple said they were taking it “one day at a time” in quarantine after contracting the coronavirus in Australia.
Hanks and Wilson, both 63, confirmed they had tested positive for the disease on 12 March.
In an Instagram post, Hanks wrote: “Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us.
“We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness.”
They later posted to say they had both recovered and returned home.
George Alagiah
The BBC newsreader confirmed he had tested positive for the virus but said he thought he had had a “mild dose”.
Alagiah, 64, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2014 and again in December 2017, and said going through that had helped him fight his latest illness.
“I don’t want to trivialize because I seem to have had a mild dose, but actually, the very fact that we (cancer patients) are living with cancer I think gives us an edge,” he said in an interview on 1 April.
“We’ve confronted those difficult, dark moments in our life.”
Lee Mack
Comedian Lee Mack confirmed on 26 March that he was self-isolating at home after developing symptoms, although he had not been tested for the virus.
A spokesperson for the Not Going Out star said: “He said the worst symptom so far is the avalanche of jokes about him Not Going Out.
“He laughed on day one but now it’s day 10 it’s becoming a struggle.”
Linda Lusardi
The actress and former model said she had “never felt this ill” after both she and her husband contracted the virus.
On 19 March, she posted on Twitter: “I want to thank you all for your good wishes. Sam and I have had COVID-19 symptoms and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time, that’s all we can do.
“But let me tell you we’ve never felt this ill, EVER!”
She later confirmed they had both tested positive and said the NHS had saved her life.
Paul Chuckle
The 72-year-old – who was part of the comedy duo The Chuckle Brothers – said he had been “laid-up” with mild symptoms but they were “not nice”.
In a video message posted on Twitter on 30 March, Chuckle, whose real name is Paul Elliott, said: “I have been laid up with COVID-19 for a good few days, just mild, but it was there and it’s not nice, I promise you, so please, please stay inside.
“We’re all going stir-crazy, we know that, but please stay inside and take the pressure off the NHS, Marie Curie, etc, etc.
“Please, please, stay in guys and enjoy as best you can.”
Harvey Weinstein
A US federal prison union official said on 23 March that the disgraced film producer had tested positive for COVID-19.
The former Hollywood mogul was placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison east of Buffalo, New York.
A lawyer for Weinstein, Imran Ansari, said his legal team had not been notified of the diagnosis.
Marianne Faithfull
The singer-songwriter’s agent confirmed on 4 April that she was in hospital being treated for COVID-19.
Francois Ravard said the 73-year-old was in a stable condition and “responding to treatment” in a London hospital.
Mr. Ravard said: “She is stable and responding to treatment, we all wish her well and a full and speedy recovery.”
Olga Kurylenko
The Bond girl said she had tested positive for coronavirus in a message posted on Instagram on 15 March, urging fans to take the illness seriously.
The Ukrainian-born French actress, who starred in Quantum Of Solace, said: “Locked up at home after having tested positive for coronavirus.
“I’ve actually been ill for almost a week now. Fever and fatigue are my main symptoms. Take care of yourself and do take this seriously!”
Kristofer Hivju
Games of Thrones star Hivju, who played the wildling warrior Tormund Giantsbane, self-isolated with his family after contracting the illness.
He wrote in an Instagram post on 16 March: “We are in good health – I only have mild symptoms of a cold.
“There are people at higher risk for who this virus might be a devastating diagnosis, so I urge all of you to be extremely careful; wash your hands, keep 1.5 meters distance from others, go in quarantine; just do everything you can to stop the virus from spreading.”
Andy Cohen
The 51-year-old Watch What Happens Live presenter wrote on Instagram on 20 March, saying he had been in quarantine after feeling ill for “a few days” and been diagnosed with the virus.
He added: “I want to thank all the medical professionals who are working tirelessly for all of us, and urge everybody to stay home and take care of themselves.”